Pinch me again
by zippizappi
Summary: A sequel to "Pinch me, I must be dreaming", starting a few weeks after 7x19. No one-year time jump, no 7x20 drama. Rated M!
1. Chapter 1

"Caleb?"

"Yes, babe?"

"Pinch me again."

"Why?"

"Because I still think I must be dreaming."

 **XXXXX**

 **Chapter 1 – Ten weeks later…**

 **XXXXX**

The key turned in the lock, and a 'click' later, the heavy door to the loft fell open. Hanna and Caleb strode inside, both trailing large suitcases behind them.

The minute that they stepped inside their apartment, they were greeted by festoons, Chinese lanterns, and a wall-to-wall banner, all traces of the party that had been thrown at the Radley Hotel three weeks previous, which had been brought to the loft for the newlyweds to see the moment that they returned from their honeymoon.

"So, let me get this straight. I've only been on vacation for three weeks, and you guys manage to lose two pages of software script? How the hell could you lose something like that? You're supposed to back up everything online," Caleb spoke harshly as he walked across the living room towards their bedroom. Changing his mind, he let go of his suitcase in the middle of the living room and turned to walk over to his work space in the alcove of their apartment. Listening to his business partner with his phone tucked between his head and his shoulder, he jotted down some notes on a random piece of paper, scoffing every so often at the things that he was being told.

Hanna had stopped by their refrigerator and taken out a bottle of water. Taking occasional sips, she looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish the unsettling conversation that seemingly foreshadowed the fact that she'd be all alone for the next couple of hours. Whoever Caleb was talking to on the other end of the phone had it coming. The furrows on his forehead became visibly deeper, and Hanna knew that he was about to get really mad. She'd seen those furrows a lot over the course of the past few months, though amazingly not during their honeymoon, which had now, clearly, come to an end. Over the past three weeks, Caleb had managed to stay away from his phone like he had promised he would, even though he was in the middle of his most important business deal with Lucas.

"Server breakdown?" Caleb yelled into his phone, "Does Lucas know anything about that?" He motioned to Hanna that he'd be done in a moment, whilst still listening to his partner's voice. "Alright, have you located the trouble spot?" Checking his watch, he continued, "Okay, call Henry and Garner. It's almost eight now, but I can be there in thirty minutes." He hung up and sighed deeply. "Fuck! I'm so sorry, babe. You know I wouldn't do this right now if it weren't an emergency, but the purchase agreement is supposed to be signed on Friday and the guys screwed up big time."

"No, it's okay. Really," Hanna told him sincerely. She knew how important this business deal was – it would finally balance out their financial status after Hanna's own business with Lucas had turned out to be a fraud, so she had nothing to complain about. They'd had three whole weeks to themselves, basking in the glow of finally being husband and wife. "I can unpack our stuff and do some laundry. Maybe one of the girls will want to come over," She tried in an attempt to assure him that she'd be fine on her own for the evening.

"You sure? I mean it's kind of sudden," Caleb looked concerned. He really didn't want to leave her there alone when they had made plans to look at their wedding pictures – which Aria had promised to upload to their online wedding album whilst they were gone – together.

But when he saw Hanna's reassuring nod, he crossed the distance between them and put his arms around her. Putting the water bottle down on the kitchen island, Hanna returned the hug and snuggled into the nape of his neck. He smelled so good. Even after traveling back home for the past couple of hours, he still had remnants of salt water and sunscreen on his skin from their last hours on the beach that morning.

Despite mourning the speed at which their honeymoon had gone by, Hanna also realized that it had been the best three weeks of her life.

Except for that stomach bug during their second week. _That_ , she could have done without.

But all in all, it had given her back some sense of normalcy after being tormented by A.D.'s board game for weeks, and after having to grapple with the fallout of A.D.'s vile motives.

"Hanna?" Caleb's voice shook her out of the daydream that she'd been in, and Hanna pulled back from their embrace to look at him. "I know that reality has hit home sooner than we thought it would, but I promise I'll make this quick."

Again, she nodded her approval, and they brought their lips together in a sweet kiss. "Wait up for me?" He asked with silent plea in his eyes, and Hanna couldn't help but smile at his attempt to give her something to look forward to.

"Yeah, sure," She nodded with a tentative smile playing at the corners of her mouth; Caleb instantly felt a little relieved.

He kissed her again, and then went to grab his backpack before heading out the door. Hanna looked after him, gazing longingly until he was out of her sight. After three weeks of spending every minute of every day with Caleb, she felt a strange kind of loneliness as soon as the door had closed behind him.

After standing in the same spot for a moment or to, simply trying to get used to her new-found freedom, she strolled over to their kitchen counter, where their friends had laid out all of the mail that had arrived during their vacation. Hanna skimmed through the heap of unopened letters, acknowledging the fact that all of her bills were now addressed to 'Mrs. Hanna Rivers'. Another smile, which spread until the dimples on her cheeks appeared, flashed across her face.

 _Mrs. Rivers._

Even though this was what all of the hotel staff had been calling her, she still hadn't had the chance to get used to reading her new last name on paper. She loved seeing it written on official letters and documents, as well as all of the wedding cards that had arrived during the weeks after their elopement wedding…

… and after their vow renewal three weeks ago, which they had celebrated with friends and family.

It had happened sooner than they had expected, but she couldn't have pictured a more beautiful ceremony. It wasn't Paris, it wasn't a secluded beach somewhere in Hawaii, but it was _them_. After having made it out of A.D.'s 'endgame' alive, and after Spencer's mother had saved Hanna from going to prison for killing Rollins, that was all she needed.

With a lack of motivation to start unpacking all by herself, Hanna sat down on the couch. She pulled an unaddressed envelope from the stash of mail – it looked like somebody had personally delivered it to their home. With her curiosity piqued, she tore it open, and a single picture printed on real photo paper and a hand-written note slipped out. She turned the photo around in her hand, and a single tear of happiness trailed down her cheek.

She quickly unfolded the note, and instantly recognized Aria's neat handwriting.

 _Hey guys!_

 _I hope you had the best honeymoon ever._

 _Sorry, I haven't had the time to finish work on your wedding album, but I've been so busy with our own wedding_ _. I promise I'll have it all finished by the end of the week. I'm sending you this photo as a preview of what's to come, it's my favorite! Just wanted you to see it as soon as you got home. Text me when you're back!_

 _Love, Aria._

Hanna chuckled at the fact that all of their friends had taken their previous warning about not answering texts or calls during their vacation seriously. Instead of texting her, Aria had actually opted to write a letter, which was to be opened upon their return.

The letter and the photo had stirred up a wave of happy memories for Hanna.

She couldn't remember the last time that she had gotten a hand-written letter, other than those originating from A. or A.D. But, upon seeing the picture, she instantly knew the reason for which her friend had wanted for them to see it as soon as possible.

She remembered the exact moment during which Aria had discreetly pointed her camera at them. It was a candid photo, and in it, Hanna and Caleb could be seen standing in a quiet corner of the Radley Hotel during their wedding reception. The couple stood with their arms wrapped around each other, foreheads resting against one another's, their gazes locked.

In a moment of complete intimacy, secluded from the rest of the crowd at the party, Caleb had given her his wedding present; a voucher for a five-star hotel, plus two plane tickets to Aruba. He had taken care of every detail, getting Hanna's friends to reorganize her appointments behind her back so that they could leave the next day, all the while helping to keep it the – as he called it – last secret that he ever intended to keep from her.

At first, she had chided him for spending that amount of money, especially when she didn't know where he could have gotten it from in the first place.

But then, deeply touched and overjoyed, Hanna had felt at a loss for words and had simply sunk into his arms without any further questions. The day had been full of surprises already, including the sparkly diamond ring that Caleb had presented her with during their vow recital. The ring had the shortest, yet to her, the most perfect declaration of love engraved on the inside – _1105 forever_.

After Hanna had learned that her business with Lucas was not going to happen, Caleb had made arrangements to sell some shares that he'd been holding back for emergencies. Giving Hanna a real wedding ring, a real wedding reception, _and_ a well-deserved honeymoon had felt like the kind of emergency that he'd been saving up for. After all, he _had_ promised to make her the happiest woman ever.

With everything that he had already done for her during their marriage, he had clearly managed to abide by his wedding vows.

Their honeymoon had been no exception, on any level. She smiled inwardly, thinking about the luxury of freedom that had come with getting rid of A.D. once and for all, which they had enjoyed to the full during those three weeks; not to mention the lazy days spent on beaches, or in bed.

Sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table, she stuck her arm out, and looked at her wedding band with a tinge of incredulity.

Hanna still couldn't believe her luck. She was now Mrs. Rivers. Mrs. Caleb Rivers. If someone had told her three months ago that she'd be married by the middle of January, she would have laughed at them.

It had all happened so quickly; Caleb's sudden proposal in front of her unsuspecting mother, their impromptu makeshift ring exchange in a tent to celebrate their engagement, and their hasty formal wedding ceremony in front of the Justice of the Peace.

The original reason for which Caleb had rushed them into getting married – so that they'd have a legal argument at hand – had since proven redundant. The shock of A.D.'s reveal was long forgotten, her fate sealed ever since. No-one would ever dare to threaten Hanna or any of her friends again.

But, during all of that ordeal, Hanna and Caleb's love for each other had only gotten stronger. And so, Caleb hadn't wasted any time before arranging a second wedding. They had recited their vows in front of Pastor Ted, and exchanged a new pair of rings before having a full-blown – all expenses paid, compliments of Ashley Marin and Claudia Dawson – wedding party with all of their loved ones. Aria had volunteered to act as their official wedding photographer, Spencer had helped with the invitations, and Alison had helped with decorating the Radley, though Emily had watched her every move. She had been concerned that she'd carry things that were too heavy for her, or that she'd stumble whilst standing on the ladder – Hanna had learned this when she had taken Alison to her OB/GYN appointment during Emily's field trip with Rosewood High's swim team.

The wedding had felt like a dream come true, especially after three long years of misery without Caleb in her life.

Hanna looked at the picture one last time before getting up from the couch, and placing it in a picture frame on their end table. Her fingers lingered on the silver frame for a moment before they swiped across the surface of the cool glass. For a split second, they seemed to dwell on a spot somewhere in the middle of the picture. But then Hanna let go of it, and walked over to their bedroom, picking up one of their suitcases on the way.

The photo had been a welcome home gift that they had received upon returning to their everyday lives after weeks of pure bliss.

She couldn't wait to see the rest of their wedding pictures.

But above all, she couldn't wait to give Caleb _her_ wedding present later that week.

 _to be continued…_

* * *

 _Welcome to my follow-up story. I know this was a rather short chapter, but just so you know, chapter 2 and 3 are already finished, too. If you liked this, please leave a review. Zip  
_

 _Thanks to Jenna for proofreading. You're a doll!_


	2. Chapter 2

**XXXXX**

 **Chapter 2 – Two days later**

 **XXXXX**

Caleb maneuvered the moving truck through the grid of one-way streets in downtown Manhattan, inwardly throwing one curse after another at those damn cars jamming the snowy intersection, which they were supposed to be taking a left turn down now. It was still morning, but he was already annoyed by the traffic situation in the city where he once lived with Hanna, who was frantically pointing and ranting at the other drivers.

"Uh, honey. Can you _not_ yell at me? I cannot make a U-turn on this intersection. It's a one-way street. They all are," Caleb shot back at Hanna after she had yelled at him for having missed their designated left turn onto Second Avenue.

Hanna did a double-take at his face, but he kept looking through the windshield with utmost focus. When the traffic suddenly cleared and they turned onto Second Avenue, Hanna forgot all about the question that had popped into her mind concerning the new endearment that he had used.

Instead, she concentrated on finding the Capital One Bank subsidiary, where they were supposed to meet Jordan Hobart, Hanna's ex-fiancé, and they were already fifteen minutes late.

Those two things combined had turned Hanna into a nervous wreck. She hadn't seen this man since she had called off their engagement, yet he was still nice enough to meet up with her in order to be present at the Bank, where the key for her storage unit had been locked away in a safe deposit box.

She had found it odd that Jordan would put the key in some form of storage itself. But then again, she remembered that this was so him, always on the safe side, always aware of any kind of unlikely event that could cause him to lose the key.

The other nervous twitch in her stomach – not the one that had come from the anticipation of showing up at the Bank with Caleb – had been caused by the fact that she hadn't told her ex that she was now married… to Caleb.

And she _had_ to tell him.

If she didn't, he would find out anyway when she signed the receipt with her brand-new last name, Rivers. And letting him find out like that wasn't her idea of ending this chapter of her life on good terms. Sure, she could have told him on the phone, had she been able to talk to him personally at some point during the last five weeks, rather than his personal assistant.

"There!" She was suddenly yanked out of her train of thought as she spotted not only the Bank, but also a Muni-Meter parking space. She rifled through the contents of her purse to find her New York City Parking Card, which she had kept for some reason.

Caleb stopped the car where she had told him to. "Do you want me to wait outside?" He asked her.

"No," She answered, a hint of panic in her voice, "I mean… no, please don't make me go in there alone," Hanna answered as she turned her head to face him, searching for a small nod of encouragement from him.

Caleb let go of the stick shift and took her hand in his. "Come on, let's go inside. He's not gonna bite your head off. If he ever loved you, he will be glad to see that you're happy, and will move on with his own life."

She smiled at him weakly.

"I mean you _are_ happy, aren't you?" Caleb asked, now a little doubtful.

"Yes, of course. Never been happier," Hanna tried to convince him by broadening her smile.

"Then why are you smiling like you did last Christmas when your grandmother gave you that fake cashmere sweater?" Caleb grinned.

He was right. Why wasn't she confident enough to tell Jordan she had gotten married?

She knew the answer, had known it all along. Because she still felt guilty for treating Jordan the way that she had, and for getting married six months after their separation when it had taken her longer to decide on a wedding date during their engagement? Who does that?

"A woman who's very much in love, maybe?"

 _Oops, had she accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud?_

Hanna finally got a grip on reality when Caleb led their clasped hands to his mouth and brushed his lips against her knuckles. "You're right. Let's show him that we've made the right decision."

Caleb got out of the truck and walked around it to open the passenger door for Hanna, before helping her get out. "Mrs. Rivers?" He spoke as he held his hand out for her.

Hanna took it and climbed down in her winter boots; she had learned from past mistakes.

When the couple had successively entered the Bank through its revolving glass doors, Hanna instantly spotted Jordan in the background, talking with a bank clerk and holding a bunch of papers in his hands.

The Australian smiled as he saw Hanna stride through the foyer. And he smiled even more when he caught a glimpse of Caleb, who had been stuck in the revolving doors for a moment whilst a little girl on her way out had tried to push against the glass door to make it move faster. Hanna hadn't noticed due to the fact that she had tried to walk ahead with confidence.

Jordan came towards her and met her with open arms. And that's when Hanna saw it.

Gracing his left fourth finger was a very shiny, very golden, very unmissable…. ring?

In a matter of seconds, Hanna's composure had been shattered. She swallowed down the tiny feeling of nausea rising up from her belly, and let him engulf her in a warm hug. "Hey, Hanna. It's so great to see you again. How long has it been?" Jordan asked her with the same charm that he always exuded, the charm that everybody she had ever introduced him to had ultimately liked about him.

"Um… I don't know. Six months maybe?" She tried to sound casual. But Caleb, who had finally caught up with them, noticed that something had unsettled her. He took a step forward, and helped her out by holding his hand out to Jordan in order to say hi.

"Caleb, nice to see you, too. Good thing she brought you because she can't possibly clear out that storage unit alone," Jordan told him, smiling.

"Yeah," Caleb said, still shaking hands with him, "That and the fact that I didn't wanna let my wife drive all the way up here on her own in this weather."

Hanna watched Jordan's face, and was surprised to see that it didn't so much as flinch infinitesimally in reaction.

"You two got married?" The Australian asked with excitement, "Me too."

Caleb and Hanna looked at each other, and the exact same thoughts ran through their minds. The three stood in awkward silence for a moment, until Hanna suddenly raised her left hand to give proof of their legal relationship status. "January 15th," She smiled at Jordan.

He, too, showed her his ring. "January 2nd".

"Oh," Was all that Hanna managed to say in reply, and again, the couple exchanged meaningful glances. Another short moment passed in awkward silence. Caleb took Hanna's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before interlacing their fingers.

"Congratulations!" All three of them suddenly said in perfect synchrony, prompting them to laugh at each other, all tension vanishing immediately.

"Well, anyway. If it fits, you don't wanna waste any time. And I see that also goes for you two," Jordan said with a sincere smile on his face.

Hanna turned to look at Caleb, who also glanced at her lovingly. "Yeah," She said, not taking her eyes off of him, "You're right. And this…" She looked down at their joined hands before continuing quietly, "This fits. Always has, always will. I can't remember a time when I didn't want this." Her eyes locked with Caleb's, and suddenly she realized that she had said something incredibly insensitive in the presence of her former fiancé.

"Um, I mean…" She swallowed down the perceivable lump in her throat. She could feel a tear or two welling in her eyes. _God, why was she suddenly this emotional?_

Noticing that Jordan had begun to fumble with the papers in his hands, Caleb looked back at him and asked politely, "So, who's the lucky woman?" Thus also allowing Hanna a moment to collect herself. Unbeknown to him, she was fighting some deeper demons as she held her breath, waiting for his answer.

At that, Jordan opened his wallet, and slipped a photo out of one of the pockets to show them. "Her name's Roberta and she's my personal-"

"-assistant, right?" Hanna finished the sentence for him, trying to sound cheerful in an attempt to cover up the stab to her heart that this information had inflicted. Her head suddenly seemed clouded, and her instincts and thoughts became irrational. _I knew it! That little bi-_

"-utiful picture," She heard Caleb say out loud; she knew for sure that he was unaware of what was going on inside her head, but his sincere remark thankfully kept her from spilling words that she might have later regretted. _God, what was wrong with her? Why did she care about it at all?_

"Thank you, Caleb," Jordan said before he paused, waiting to see whether Caleb would also pull out visual proof of their marriage – other than them wearing matching wedding bands, of course.

As if on cue, he shook his head apologetically, "Oh, we haven't gotten our pictures back yet."

"Ok. Well, shall we go get the key so that you guys can get started?" Jordan suggested.

"Yeah, we really should," Hanna agreed, suddenly sweating heavily in her winter coat. She wanted nothing more than to get out of the stuffy Bank building, which was irritating not only her body, but her brain, too.

 **X**

After Hanna had signed the reception receipt, and had been handed the key from Jordan's safe deposit box, she had tried to give it back to Jordan. But he had declined, stating that he had already arranged with the Bank to give up the safe deposit box altogether.

"I'll only be in town for another month. Roberta has this fantastic job offer waiting for her in Sydney with the Mayor's Office, and we're moving back home. Her family lives there," He explained.

When they had all left the building through the revolving doors, Hanna turned around and gave Jordan a short hug. The fresh air and oxygen had helped her to think straight again. "I'm really happy for you," She said sincerely as she pulled back from their hug.

"Thanks," He told her, "I hope that you two have a wonderful life together."

Hanna turned to her side, and saw that Caleb's eyes were fixated on her, shining full of love. "We will, we will," She said, more to herself and Caleb than to Jordan.

"Goodbye, Hanna."

"Goodbye, Jordan."

And at that, he turned around and walked away. For a short moment, Hanna looked after him. But then she heard Caleb chuckle beside her.

"What's so funny?" She asked, curiously.

"Everything. I mean this morning you were so afraid to see him again, let alone tell him that we got married. And now…," He paused to scoff, "Now you know that the dude got married himself, before we did." Suddenly, he laughed out loud, "Do you think Roberta took his name?"

Hanna eyed him suspiciously, trying to find the humor in the situation. And then it hit her. "You know, you're right," She said as she closed the distance between them in order to wrap her arms around him, "And besides, Hanna Hobart just doesn't have a good ring to it. Seriously! Whereas, Hanna Rivers…." She purposefully paused for emphasis.

"Hanna Rivers sounds pretty perfect to me," He whispered as their lips moved closer to one another's.

"Absolutely perfect. Now kiss me," She demanded huskily as she realized that she had now gotten real closure on a past chapter of her life. Caleb willingly complied, and cradled her face in his hands as he brought their lips together.

They stood in the middle of the crowded sidewalk on Second Avenue, kissing passionately, not caring about the fact that they were partaking in a public display of affection in broad daylight.

In a desperate attempt to catch a breath, they let go of each other. Relieved about the outcome of her last ever conversation with her ex, Hanna grabbed Caleb's hand, and together they walked back to their rented moving truck.

 _to be continued…_

* * *

 _Another small chapter, I know, but I can't always post 8,000+ words. ;-) Let me know if you have any ideas for what's to happen next... And as always, I live for reviews. Zip (and thank you, Jenna, yet again for correcting my grammar and style)  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Having parked their car, Hanna and Caleb strode through the vast storage space on East 62nd Street, looking for the number that matched Hanna's key. When she finally found it, Hanna unlocked the large padlock with shaky hands, and let the door slide upward, hoping to see that her carefully hatched plan - and Toby's connections to the NYPD - had worked out. For some reason, they both held their breath for a second, and stared into the dark space with an anxious look on their face. _A.D. had really screwed them over_.

Caleb took a step forward, and when his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he saw a cord connecting to a lightbulb on the ceiling, right above their heads. He pulled it, and within a split-second, the jam-packed shelves and boxes became visible to them.

And there it was. Hanna noticed that her heart had begun to race.

Smack bang in the middle of the room, stood their beloved table.

Only, it no longer looked like their table.

 **X**

"Hey, what's this?" She heard Caleb's voice travel through the storage unit.

Hanna found herself staring at the table; anxiously, she moved closer in order to give it a closer inspection. "Oh my God," She uttered under her breath as she took it all in for the first time.

It was beautiful. Better than expected, she thought to herself as she let her right hand swipe across the smooth surface of the freshly refurbished tabletop, careful not to scratch it with her watch or any of the other accessories she was wearing. A deeply satisfied grin played around the corners of her mouth.

"Is this…" Caleb asked as he came closer, "Is this our table?"

Hanna slowly turned to face him, trying to read his eyes in order to find out whether he approved of it or not. "Happy anniversary!" She smiled at him, and the surprised look on his face turned into confusion.

"What did I forget? First kiss? First time? First date?" He asked, laughing before he remembered, "No wait… that was all in November…" He continued to rack his brain. "Ok, help me out here."

"One month, one week, one day," Hanna said tersely, before continuing to explain when she saw his helpless expression. "As of today, we've been married for one month, one week, and one day. So, happy anniversary!" She beamed at him like a child in a candy store. "I wanted to give this to you as my wedding present but it took the carpenter a little longer to finish it. It was worth it, though, I think."

He couldn't help but laugh before engulfing her in a tight embrace. "And there I was thinking that I was the one who had a thing for numbers. Happy anniversary to you, too, honey!"

 _There was that word again. Honey_.

But before she allowed herself to question his sudden infatuation with endearments, Caleb's lips came crashing down on hers, and she lost her train of thought.

When their lips parted, Caleb took the time to survey the table.

Their table looked good-as-new again. Every scratch on the tabletop was gone; its surface had been expertly sandpapered, and finished off with a coat of stain the color of mahogany. Instead of the large scratch that used to grace the middle of it, the tabletop was now sporting a circular intarsia in its original beech color and, embedded in its center, a convoluted, mahogany 'R'.

After taking in the fine workmanship, Caleb took a step back. "It looks really great. What does the 'R' stand for? Rosewood? Radley? Mrs. Rahimi?" He asked jokingly.

Hanna eyed him incredulously and started laughing. "It's for 'Rivers', you moron." After all these years, they still shared fond memories of their quirky New York neighbor, who after weeks of giving them the hairy eyeball had taken a liking to the young couple and often provided them with late night dinners.

Caleb laughed at her remark, but then his expression showed suspicion. "Wait… How did it get in here?"

She sat down on the table, testing its stability. "Spencer and Toby were on a secret mission and took it to the carpenter while we were in Aruba," She explained with a hint of pride in her voice as she leaned back on the table, supporting her weight on her arms. The envelope that lay on top of it accidentally fell down to the ground. Hanna ignored it, thinking that it must have been the carpenter's invoice.

"But we just got the key from a safe deposit box that no-one else had access to," Caleb mused as he sat down next to her, noticing with a glint in his eyes that the table was longer screeching.

"Well… if a certain someone has certain connections to, let's say, the police, then maybe that certain someone was able to get in here very… secretly?" She told him, smirking.

"I see," He grinned back at her. "So, Toby and Spencer… Conspiring together? How's Spencer? Have you talked to her since we got back?"

"Yeah, we talked on the phone yesterday. She started her new job last week and she's gonna move into a new apartment next month, once the guy who lives there now has moved out. Until then she's staying in Toby's apartment here," She informed him.

"Crazy, right? I feel like we've been gone for three months, and now half of our friends have moved on to different places," Caleb mumbled as his wound his arm around her shoulder. They sat in silence, thinking about the changes that had taken place after A.D. had turned out to be Spencer's unknown twin sister, Alex Drake. The girls had been able to live free lives after Alex had been killed in a shootout with Detective Maple; Spencer had cut all ties to her home town and relocated to New York, aided by the money that she got from selling her half of the _Lost Woods Resort_ to Alison.

After a while, Caleb spoke up. "He told me that he was thinking about applying for a job in the NYPD. He says he's finally ready to get back to work again."

"Aaaw, that sounds like a good idea," Hanna smiled, "Do you think he's doing it for Spencer?"

"I don't know," Caleb shrugged, "We haven't really had a good chance to talk since our last fishing trip, you know, with everything that's been going on lately. I'm sure he's still taking his time to… figure things out."

"Yeah," Hanna said almost inaudibly, infinitely happy and grateful for the way that her life had turned out. She leaned over to Caleb and he instantly caught on, closing the distance between their lips in order to exchange a flurry of light kisses.

Moments later, Caleb removed his arm from Hanna's shoulder, and turned to the side to put his hand down on the intarsia. He looked at it admiringly. "The 'R'… was it your idea?" He asked her.

Hanna nodded and went on to explain, "I wanted the table to be a symbol of us," She hesitated for a second, "Of our own new little family."

At that, his gaze fell back onto her slightly blushing face.

"Like, I don't know… some kind of heirloom, maybe?" She concluded, before anxiously awaiting his response, fully aware of how cheesy the idea must sound to him. However, she hadn't expected him to react this choked up; he wasn't crying over it but she knew by the thunderstruck expression on his face that her present had touched him deeply. And seeing him like this had been exactly what she had aimed for.

It had been a few weeks ago that her creative mind had failed to come up with cool new dress designs for her portfolio. Instead, she had been scribbling in her sketchbook to test what her first name would look like with Caleb's last name written next to it. That was when the idea for the intarsia came up. They had been planning to pick up the table from New York anyway. And so Hanna had tentatively asked Spencer and Toby for help – way before she had eloped with Caleb and before they had started their own family altogether.

"Does that mean we're gonna have to be decent now?" He enquired jokingly to break the tension between them that had evolved in this emotional moment. But then the smirk on his face faltered and a hint of seriousness in his eyes took over his expression. "I love it," he replied absentmindedly as he let his hand glide over the smooth surface, "I like the idea of a Rivers family heirloom. So maybe later, somewhere down the road, we can pass it on to our…" He looked back up at her face.

"Kids," They said simultaneously. They both stared at each other quietly for a long moment.

And just like that, Hanna knew. A crystal clear realization emerging from the back of her mind. She was sure that he had to be thinking the exact same thing.

Caleb hadn't grown up with his biological parents and so there had never been time to make family traditions or opportunities for him to inherit any family treasures. But in Hanna's eyes, he deserved to have that. He would be the one to start creating and passing on Rivers family values and traditions. Not necessarily the ones made at the table or on it, for that matter, she blushed fiercely just thinking of their history with the table.

Lost in thoughts, she noticed that his gaze had dropped to his hand placing itself on top of hers touching the tabletop.

"Caleb?" Hanna waited until he looked directly into her eyes, "I think I wanna have a baby. No, wait, let me start again." She inhaled deeply whilst ordering her thoughts; she was glad that she was sitting, because she knew that her knees would have given out otherwise. "I've been thinking about this for a while already. I want a baby. With you," She informed him, her voice firm. There was not a single doubt, no apprehension, no demurral about the subject anymore.

Caleb looked at her for a long time without showing any kind of reaction to her confession, and Hanna's heart sank. She couldn't withstand his gaze any longer, and so her eyes traveled down to her lap.

With the tension in the room now palpable, Caleb finally started to crack a smile. "Hanna?" He used his forefinger to nudge her head back up so that he could see her properly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry," He started in a soft voice, "It took me a while to answer because I couldn't help but imagine what our baby would look like… couldn't help but hope that our daughter would look like you… or if we had a son, that he would look like me, but better dressed," He chuckled, and using his thumb he wiped away the tears that glistened in the corners of her eyes.

"You know…" His thumb stayed in touch with her skin, tenderly stroking downward along the contours of her face, starting over again when he had reached her chin. "I never wanted to have kids when I was younger. I just couldn't imagine that I would be able to love somebody as unconditionally as a child deserves to be loved, simply because I never knew what that felt like… until you stepped into my world and turned it upside down."

At that, the smile on her face grew even wider.

"I never knew how much better my world would look from where you had brought it to. And despite all the ups and downs that we had, I never stopped thinking like… wow, this girl has so much love to give… with her by my side, I can imagine a lot of things for my future… even becoming a father one day. And now I'm here… with you… and we're married. This alone feels like a dream come true, though like a dream I never knew I had," he laughed shortly. "There's nobody I could ever imagine doing all this with but you. And I think that _one day_ may be now. Yeah… I think I'm… ready."

During his entire monologue, Hanna had sat there listening silently, processing his words and hoping that, in the end, he'd be right there on the same page with her. She had made one quick decision eloping with Caleb. But this wasn't something she was going to decide head over heels. If he had said no to the subject of having a baby, she would have never tried to talk him into it, no matter how much she longed to become a mother really soon. So, striving for reassurance, she asked, "Are you sure?"

"Our kids are gonna have the best mom. And the most beautiful," He said sincerely, placing a soft kiss on her lips, and Hanna blushed at the compliment.

"Our kids are gonna have the most devoted dad," She murmured in response, adding with a smirk, "And the sexiest!"

"So… Are you down?" She grinned, mimicking his proposal from just a little over a month ago.

"Absolutely."

Hanna couldn't hold the happy tears in any longer while at the same time beaming at him with the biggest grin plastered on her face. They kissed again, and this time their lips lingered on each other's for a little longer, their tongues teasing one another's. Had it not been so cold in the room, Hanna and Caleb would have gone on to try and make a baby right then and there, on their table.

When the sexual tension became almost unbearable, Caleb broke the kiss, and they looked at each other for a long moment, trying to process the significance of the mutual decision that they had just made.

He cleared his throat and huffed, "Maybe we should hurry up and get your stuff loaded into the truck so that we can finally drive back home. I have a surprise for you, too."

"Well, give it to me now," She demanded excitedly as she wiped her face dry with a Kleenex she had pulled from the pocket of her coat.

"Nope. There's something I need to show you first, and I don't have it here with me," Caleb informed her.

Disappointed, she conceded, "Oh. Alright." Then, Hanna turned around to inspect the unit, deciding on where to start with the laborious task of packing. She had so many boxes of her college stuff, her sketchbooks, fabric swatches, books that she hardly remembered ever having read… she knew that they were in for a long day. She jumped off of the table, and picked up the letter. Holding it in her hands, she saw that only both of their first names had been hand-written on the envelope; she found it odd, especially as it had come from one of the most renowned New York woodwork businesses, and so she opened it, only to find another hand-written note inside.

 _Didn't anybody use their phones to send messages anymore?_

Suddenly, Caleb was right behind her, looking over her shoulder. "What's this?"

Not in the position to make sense of the scrawl on the envelope yet, Hanna tersely answered, "Just the invoice from the carpenter, I guess."

As that didn't pique his interest, Caleb brushed a kiss against her cheek to gain her attention. "Babe, there's a coffee shop down the street, I'm gonna go out and get us something. Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?"

"Uh-huh," Hanna murmured absentmindedly, desperately trying to figure out who might have put the letter there for her to find.

"Your usual? Hot, tall, light roast, non-fat, no cream, no whip, one shot vanilla cappuccino?"

"No, just herbal tea for me. Thanks," She told him as she pulled out the letter and unfolded it.

Caleb looked baffled, "Are you fucking kidding me? Do you have any idea how long it took me to memorize your coffee order?" He scoffed, causing Hanna to look up from the letter.

"You're so sweet," She smiled.

He decided to ignore her remark. There was just no sense in challenging her if he wanted to make it out of New York again before rush hour in Lincoln Tunnel would hold them back. "Okay, herbal tea it is. Why don't you start sorting through your stuff while I'm outside? Maybe there's some things that you could throw away or donate?" He suggested. "I'll be right back."

Hanna waited until she heard his steps echo through the cemented hallway before she began to read the unfamiliar scribble.

 _My precious Hanna, hi Caleb!_

 _Please allow me to pay Toby for refurbishing your beloved table as my wedding gift to you! I would feel so honored. You read that correctly, Toby did it all by himself! It looks great, doesn't it?_

 _I would have loved to come to your wedding, but you know that my doctors at Welby didn't allow me to leave, not even for a few hours, as I was still in the early stages of my therapy. But I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for inviting me, it really meant the world to me. I'm sure you were the prettiest and happiest bride and groom ever._

 _Hanna, I pray for forgiveness every day, and really hope that one day you will stop condemning me for what I've done to you. I have to stay at Welby for the next couple of months, but you will always be my best friend!_

 _I hope that you can visit me someday. The medications are starting to make me feel better. If we're lucky, you might even be able to visit during Jean-Pierre's shift. He's a cute trainee nurse from France and he's just the nicest person ever!_

 _Thank you for your ongoing support, I love you!_

 _Your friend, Mona_

 _PS: Don't tell Toby I told you that it was all his work. He was so shy about it._

Hanna put the piece of paper down to pull yet another tissue out of her pocket. She blew her nose and wiped at her eyes, pondering ways to thank Mona for meddling in her business and scolding herself for not having thought of giving Toby this job in the first place.

Then, she stuffed the letter in her purse, before turning to one of the boxes in order to start going through her stuff. Caleb was right; there was definitely a few things in the unit that she would want to throw away, starting with the first box that she pulled from the shelf. In there, she found photo albums from her years with Jordan. Convinced that he surely wouldn't mind, especially now that he was married to Robota, as Hanna had secretly called her ex's personal assistant, she decided to throw the memories in the trash. As much as she hated throwing away personal items like photos, she knew for a fact that there would never ever come another day when she would want to look at Jordan's face again. It would only remind her of a time in her life that she wanted to forget about, a time when her other half, the missing piece in her puzzle, had gone astray in her life.

Ten minutes later, Caleb came back, carrying her tea cup and his short, triple-caf, one sugar cube, no milk, no whip, no cream, no fun coffee cup. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked as he handed her the hot beverage, "You seem very shaken. Did they charge you more than estimated beforehand?"

"No, I'm fine. Actually, it wasn't the invoice, it was a letter from Mona, nothing major, though," Came her response.

"Mona? How did she even manage to write you a letter, smuggle it out of Welby, and not to mention deposit it here?" He wondered. But then, having thought about it for a second, he reasoned, "You know what, I really don't wanna know. This woman…. ugh " Abandoning his sentence, he scoffed and took a sip from his cup before placing it down on the table.

"Are you crazy? Use a coaster," Hanna scolded him as she scooted over and lifted the cup. She put it on a shelf, turning her back on Caleb, who was left looking dumbfounded.

"This coming from the woman who once scratched that same table with her heels right before having sex on it? Very memorable sex, I may add," He chuckled.

"Well, it's an heirloom now, we have to treat it better," She said with an honest expression on her face. Caleb didn't know whether to make fun of it, or to pull out a tissue and wipe away the invisible stains his sweaty palms, which had started to get worse the moment that she had basically asked him to be the father of their future heirs, might have left on the tabletop.

He opted to keep his mouth shut, and busied himself by loading the boxes labeled HOME onto the dolly that they had brought along. Nope, no sense in arguing with her now. He really wanted to be back in Rosewood in time for a late dinner to surprise her with yet another possibly life-changing present.

 _to be continued…_

* * *

 _Happy to read more reviews, as always. Let me know if you want a preview for chapter 4. Zip  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**XXXXX**

 **Chapter 4**

 **XXXXX**

It took them all afternoon to finish going through Hanna's things. They unpacked and repacked boxes for different purposes, and Caleb brought countless cartloads out to the truck. During lunchtime, he went out to get food for them. All in all, he spent the entire day helping Hanna out with everything that might have been too heavy for her, as well as tending to her most basic needs by providing her with lots of tea and sandwiches.

By the time that every single box had been checked and labeled, there was only one thing left in the unit, which he wasn't able to move by himself: the table.

Grabbing it at either end, they managed to carry it out into the hallway, where Hanna suddenly stopped. "Wait, I just remembered something. Put it down," She instructed him. Caleb did as he was told, and Hanna separated the two halves of the tabletop before removing the wooden boards meant to extend the tabletop in the middle.

"Oh, riiiight," He casually dragged his words while at the same time smiling at the thoughtfulness of his wife. Hanna put the boards down and leaned them against the wall next to the now empty storage unit. She walked back inside and pulled the cord to turn off the light. Whispering "Bye, New York", She closed the roll-up door, and used the key to lock it up again before tossing it into her purse.

 **X**

The moving truck gathered speed as Caleb finally reached the Interstate 95, which would lead them all the way back home. They still had a hundred miles to drive, but he and Hanna both felt completely drained.

After loading the table into the truck, they had taken a few boxes of clothes to the Goodwill Store and Donation Center on 1st Avenue. Hanna had packed a box with CDs and books, which she had thought that Jordan had accidentally discarded in the aftermath of their break-up, and Fedexed it back to him along with the key to the storage unit from an office on Lexington Avenue. Caleb had gone crazy in the downtown Manhattan traffic, going from one place to another until they had finally traversed the Lincoln Tunnel, and were no longer stuck on a snow-covered island.

Now, it was almost 8pm and Hanna was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, fighting to keep her eyes open. It didn't help that it was pitch-black outside, especially at this time of day during the winter. For the past half hour, as they had made their way out of Manhattan, Caleb had entertained her by singing karaoke in the car, and it had been funny to watch and listen to him. But was getting harder and harder for her not to yawn in reaction to his singing. Despite that fact, she wanted to show her gratitude for not having to steer a moving truck through New York in this kind of weather by staying awake to keep him company. In Caleb's opinion, she should have been the one singing. He was always telling her that she had a beautiful voice, and had practically been begging her to sing to him. But she was barely able to prevent herself from curling up in the passenger seat, much less move her facial muscles to sound out words that she'd memorized a long time ago in different pitches.

During a short moment of silence between two songs, Hanna cut in asking, "Caleb? What time do we have to return the truck?"

"I have to take it back by tomorrow morning. Why?" Caleb answered as he lowered the volume of the car radio.

"Do we have to unload it today, or can it wait till tomorrow?" Hanna sounded a bit whiny, hoping that he'd confirm the latter.

"If you want me to wake you up at six in the morning so that we can unload it then, then I'd say it can wait. But knowing that you're still not a morning person, I say we get it over with as soon as we get home," He noted with a side glance at her. When he saw that she was yawning incessantly, he backed down. "Ok, if you feel too tired to unload it later, you can go to sleep. I can take care of the boxes alone, but you'll have to help me with the table."

At that, Hanna sighed loudly, flinching slightly. Caleb looked at her with unease. "Honey, you look a little pale today. Are you feeling okay? You seem like you're coming down with something, I don't want you to wear yourself out too much."

She thought about his questions for a moment, and considered telling him about her impending period, but opted against it. He would find out eventually, anyway. "I'm just really, _really_ tired, that's all. It's been a long day."

"I have to admit, you're getting better at it," Caleb said with a chuckle.

"Getting better at what?" She asked, her curiosity keeping her from yawning yet again.

"We got up at six this morning and you weren't cranky at all," He chuckled, "You're preparing for being a mother already, huh?"

Hanna smiled weakly, but admitted to herself that he was right; at the same time, she felt like he was trying to irk her. Hadn't he noticed that she had gotten up with him early almost every day since before their honeymoon, just to spend time with him during breakfast? She loved the way that he looked after getting up early in the morning, his hair all ruffled, and he always smelled so incredibly good after showering. Why would she want to miss out on all of that, in exchange for sleeping in?

Turning in her seat, she looked at him for a minute. "So," She decided to change the topic, "Honey?"

"Yes?" Caleb instantly glanced at her, surprised that she'd called him that.

She grinned at him. "No, I meant why did you start calling me 'Honey'?"

"Oh," He said, feeling a little embarrassed, "I think you're sweet." Even to him, the words sounded lame.

Her grin widened. "Sweet? Me? Really?" She asked, with just a hint of sarcasm.

"You don't like it?" He half-expected her to roll her eyes.

Instead, her expression softened, and she shyly admitted, "I kind of like the way it sounds when you say it."

"I could call you something else," He suggested.

"Like what? Sweetheart? Darling?" She wrinkled her nose, "I can't see myself answering to any of those."

"How about 'Princess'?"

Hanna frowned at him. She resented that nickname.

"Or how about 'my Main Squeeze? 'Hottie'? 'Sugar'? 'Muffin'?" He joked.

She rewarded him with a laugh, "I don't think so." She moved a little closer to him and laid her hand on his, which was holding on to the steering wheel.

"Ok, I'm out. I'm just gonna stick with 'Honey'," Caleb let out a laughing sigh, and let the word roll off of his tongue again, "Honey."

"Hmmm," She giggled, mulling over the sound of it as it rang in her ears, "Now say the 'Main Squeeze' one."

"No."

"No?" She turned her head to look at him, "Why not?"

"I think you're mocking me," He shrugged, simply.

Her eyes crinkled at the corners as her smile grew wider, "Maybe I am, just a little." She tried to look serious but her eyes were still sparkling.

Caleb got the message and played along with her game, "Maybe I'll call you 'Angel'".

"Me? An angel?" She laughed at the sheer thought of her non-angelic traits.

"Um, excuse me, have you seen yourself lately?" Caleb argued. Hanna knew what he was getting at, and ended up curling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger. But when she said nothing in response, an awkward silence fell between them.

Caleb cleared his throat. "Do you have any new names for me?" He asked playfully, in a desperate attempt to keep the conversation going; he was starting to feel tired, too.

Hanna looked out of the passenger window, trying to come up with some funny names to call him. But her brain felt too muddled by emotions that she couldn't really pinpoint. Part of her felt completely overwhelmed by the fact that she would not be taking her pill tomorrow morning, or for many days to come, for that matter. And then there was another part of her, the one that kept doubting whether this was the best moment to start a family, now that her fashion business had been put on hold.

She turned around to face him again. "Sweetie?" She suggested, vaguely.

Now it was _his_ turn to try out that death stare that Hanna had perfected over the course of the past seven years. Due to the fact that he was driving, his stare only lasted for a second or two, and then his focus returned to the traffic ahead of them. It had started to snow again, and Caleb had to reduce his speed. He cringed at the thought that, now, it would take them even longer to get home.

Hanna, unaware of his annoyance due to the weather, laughed out loud at his facial expression. "Hm, it's not that bad," She judged, "But maybe I'll just wait until we have a baby, and then I can call you 'hot Daddy'."

"Only if I'm allowed to call you 'sexy Momma'," Caleb shot back, acknowledging the fact that she was clearly making fun of him.

"Just you wait until I've gained twenty pounds, then we'll see if you still find me sexy," Hanna yawned, and looked out the side window. She didn't want to come across as a self-conscious woman fishing for compliments, but deep inside, she knew that Caleb would give her exactly that.

"Will you still have boobs?" He asked, and for a split second, he glanced sideways at her upper body.

"Um, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have even more boob when I'm pregnant," She said as she was staring down at her woolen sweater in order to peek at her cleavage.

"And will you be the one carrying our child?"

"Of course, I will. What kind of a stupid question is that?" She lifted her gaze back to him, but he pretended to focus solely on the traffic in front of them. "Caleb?"

"Then you're gonna be one hell of a sexy momma," He assured her, taking his eyes off of the road as he searched for her hand in the darkness of the driver's cabin. Having found it in her lap, he laced their fingers together, and brought their joined hands up to his mouth. He planted a firm kiss on the back of her hand before he lowered them again, and let them rest in her lap for a while. "Meet the Rivers… 'hot Daddy' and 'sexy Momma'," He laughed at his own joke, but when it only roused a weak smile on Hanna's face, his own grin faded away; instead, he opened his mouth in order to ask the unspoken question that was lingering in the air, his voice thick with emotion. "Do you think we're gonna be good parents, one day?"

Taken aback, Hanna gave his hand a little squeeze. "The best," She whispered, before moving closer to him in order to lay her head on his shoulder.

They drove like that for another thirty miles, during which time Hanna fell asleep on him. Caleb was in desperate need of some coffee, and sighed happily when he spotted a rest stop about half-way between New York and Philadelphia. He parked the car, and the sudden standstill caused Hanna to wake up from her slumber. "Are we there yet?" She mumbled.

"No," Caleb answered, laughing a little, "Still got about fifty miles to go."

"Do you want me to take over?" She offered.

"It's alright, you can go back to sleep. I'm gonna go inside and get me some coffee. Do you want anything? Tea?" He offered.

"Ugh, I've had enough tea for one day. I'm gonna go inside and use their bathrooms," She told him, "But I'm hungry again. Could you bring me some fruit, maybe a banana or some strawberries?" She asked, trying to stifle a yawn.

"A banana for Hanna," He rhymed, "Hey, I just thought of a funny new nickname for you."

"Don't say it. Don't even think about it," Hanna instantly shot down his idea before he even had a chance to say it out loud. Within a few seconds, she had left him standing perplexed and alone, for the third time that day.

 **X**

It wasn't unreasonably late when Caleb finally maneuvered the truck into a parking space close to their apartment building.

Hanna had been fast asleep for the second half of their trip; Caleb had settled for drinking his coffee in infinitesimal sips to make it last for longer, not wanting to wake Hanna up for another coffee stop. Eventually, his beverage had turned cold.

After the door on the driver's side had slammed shut, he moved around the truck, and opened the passenger door. He climbed up in order to wake Hanna, "Babe, we're home. Come on, let's go upstairs."

"But we need to unpack first," Came her sleepy voice from somewhere in the curled up heap of hair, clothes, and limbs on the passenger seat.

"We need to get you tucked in," Caleb said, soothingly.

"But my boxes-" Hanna murmured feebly, and let out a yawn.

"Your boxes can wait," He cut in, leaning forward to lift her up in his arms.

"But our table-" She mumbled as she clung to his neck, her body still stiff from her unusual sleeping position in the truck.

"Our table is wrapped in a nice, warm, and cuddly blanket. I think it will be fine out here in the truck for one night." He looked at her, hoping she'd see the exhaustion on his face in the dim haze of the street light in front of their home. He put her down on her own feet after barely managing to get her out of the car. Breathing laboredly, he said, "Baby, can you do the walking yourself? I don't think I can carry anything ever again."

Hanna stood on the sidewalk with her back to the building, and watched him lock the car through half closed eyes. Her coat hung loosely around her shoulders; the falling snow was starting to seep through it. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself. As soon as Caleb was done, he took her hand, and led her inside the building.

 **X**

Having walked up the stairs, Hanna pushed her coat off of her shoulders, and let it fall to the ground, not minding where it came to land. There was no way that she could have possibly bent down to pick it up in that moment. Even walking had become a painstaking task; so much so that she just dropped down onto the first piece of furniture in her line of sight, which happened to be the couch.

"God, why am I so tired? It's only 8:45pm," Hanna murmured as she sunk deeper into the couch cushions, and propped her feet up on the coffee table.

"Well, that's what you get for drinking herbal tea all day long. What was that all about?" Caleb scoffed as he finally entered the apartment behind her, after having picked up the mail on his way up. He put the letters down on their kitchen island without so much as looking at them, and poured himself a glass of water before chugging it down and refilling it again.

"It felt like a tea kinda day, thanks to this cold fucking weather. Plus, I was hoping that it would help with my cramps," Hanna shrugged as she laid her hands on her stomach.

"Do you want me to get you anything? A Tylenol?" He came to stand behind the sofa and put his hands on her shoulders, massaging them lightly.

Hanna tilted her head all the way back until her eyes met his gaze. "I meant cramps in a department further down," She pursed her lips, and he instantly brought his head down to connect his lips with hers in an upside-down kiss, accepting the silent 'thank you for offering' from her. "Do you want me to draw you a hot bath? Or I could make a hot water bottle up for you?" He continued to make suggestions.

"Do we even have a hot water bottle?" Hanna eyed him incredulously with her head still tilted back.

"With what I've come to know about Lucas, I wouldn't put it past him," He said, before placing another peck on her lips, and moving over to the kitchen in order to pour the remaining water from his glass into the sink. "Ugh, I need something stronger to get rid of the stale taste of that cold coffee I drank in the car."

"Ew, please do," She cringed, "Even I was able to taste it, and it's making me nauseous."

"Do you want me to open a bottle of wine for us?" Caleb's voice sounded as he walked all the way across the room, to where the wine bottles were neatly stacked on a wooden rack.

"That sounds great. And then you could give me that surprise that you were talking about earlier." She tried to put on an excited expression while attempting to stifle another yawn at the same time.

Sitting down next to her, he handed Hanna the bottle that he had picked out from their assortment of wines. "Ok, how's this? You open this while I go look for that hot water bottle. And then I'll tell you all about the surprise," Caleb kissed her forehead before he got up and moved around the couch.

On his way to the bathroom, Caleb threw his coat on top of her jacket – which had already left a wet stain on the floor – and kicked his boots off. "You don't need to get up, I'll get the glasses on my way back," He called over his shoulder as he walked through their bedroom, and reached the door to their adjoining bathroom.

He didn't have to search for long. He had seen the hot water bottle a while ago in a bathroom cabinet, which was home to an array of bath bombs and luffas. To this day, he still hadn't been able to pinpoint whose bathroom accessories he had uncovered back then; Hanna had never been much of a hot bath person, as far as he could remember.

As soon as he had grabbed the requested item from its hidden storage, he walked into their bedroom and retrieved a pile of papers from his sock drawer. Smiling inwardly, he rifled through the papers and strode back into the living room, where he found the wine bottle on the table with the cork only half-unscrewed; he also found Hanna, fast asleep in her beloved tangled-fetus position, in the exact same spot on the couch.

Sighing, he picked up a cuddly blanket from one of the chairs, and draped it over her body. Then, he sat down next to her, and grabbed his phone in order to type out some texts that he had been meaning to send.

 **X**

In the middle of the night, Hanna slowly awoke from her slumber, only to wonder why she had been sleeping all alone on the couch in their living room. Judging by the darkened room, and the now cold water bottle sitting in her lap, she concluded that she must have been asleep for quite a while. And then it dawned on her that she had thwarted their plan to share a nice glass of wine together. Moreover, she had allowed herself to doze off before he'd even had the chance to tell her about his surprise.

Muttering a bunch of choice words to herself as a result of her disappointment, she shoved the blanket to the side and got up.

She crossed the dark living room, and peeked through their open bedroom door. Caleb was laying on her side of the bed, spread out flat on his stomach, with his face partially buried underneath her pillow. Hanna chuckled at the sight of him, grinning even wider when she realized that he hadn't even lasted long enough to take off all of his clothes. His upper body and his feet were naked, but his legs were still clad in a pair of black denim slacks, which she loved seeing on him; they perfectly showed off his sexy butt.

Hanna longed to crawl under the covers and cuddle up to him, and maybe, tear off those pants and have her way with him. All of her tiredness seemed to have vanished; she felt refreshed, bursting with energy. She almost felt ready to walk down to the truck and hoist some boxes upstairs. But, in her mind, that was going a little too far, so she settled for joining Caleb in bed.

She made quick work of getting ready in the bathroom, brushing her teeth and putting on the delicate nightgown that Caleb had once given her. Oddly, it wasn't a good fit anymore, she thought as she tugged at its tight form.

While she was looking herself over in the mirror one final time, her gaze fell to the circular package of pills that she was supposed to start taking again less than a week from now. She took it into her hands, and let her thumb graze across the surface of the small plastic bulges. A tell-tale smile crept upon her features as she tossed the packet into the trashcan beneath the sink.

Hanna Rivers was now officially off of birth control.

 _to be continued…_

* * *

 _Sorry, this took a little longer than expected. But up until this point, I hadn't been sure about where I was headed with this multi-chap. Now, I'm back on track. To everyone still reading Haleb fanfiction and taking the time out of their lives to write a review, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Reviews are pure motivation to keep going with the story!  
_

 _So far, Haleb have been pretty decent. I promise that in the next chapter, there's going to be a little more... *ahem*... action. ;-)_

 _Thank you to hannnarivers for proofing!_

 _XO, Zip_


	5. Chapter 5

_I released Jen from 'Proofing Prison' for this one... please bear that in mind if you find anything that sounds amiss._

 **XXXXX**

 **Chapter 5**

 **XXXXX**

In the wee hours of the day, Hanna stood in her bathroom, applying a dab of perfume behind her earlobe as she gave herself the look-over in the large mirror above the sink. Then, she removed the scrunchie and unloosened her messy bun. Now, her long blonde hair fell in waves over her shoulder. Perfect to have Caleb run his hand through it the way he always loved doing it, she thought.

Hanna opened the door of the bathroom and immediately stopped to check out the situation in front of her. While she had been getting ready in the bathroom, Caleb had shifted on the bed, though apparently not woken up. He now lay sprawled out on his side, clutching her pillow in his arms. The idea that he must have missed having her by his side tonight warmed her heart a little bit. She, too, had woken up on the couch feeling lonely and longing for his warmth to soothe her.

His steady breathing prompted her to think that he was fast asleep. She remained rooted to the spot and crossed her arms, enjoying the sight of him as he was finally resting from the physical exertions of the past day. She remembered that he had taken on all the hard work, assuming that she was coming down with a cold or something. At the very moment, Hanna didn't feel sick at all and reasoned that her weakened state the day before had to be symptoms of a general tiredness from the eventful months that lay behind her.

At that very moment, Hanna didn't feel sick at all and reasoned that her weakened state the day before had to be symptoms of a general tiredness from the eventful months that lay behind her.

Caleb was lying with his back turned to her, and in the faint moonlight that kept streaming into the window of their bedroom, Hanna could see his well-defined muscles there. She wondered if he would be down for what she had in mind right now.

Having seen the package of birth control pills had reminded her again that, only a few hours ago, she and Caleb had agreed that they were ready to start a family, ready to try getting pregnant. And she had come to the conclusion that, due to her lack of tiredness at this unusual hour of the day, and thanks to the enticing half-naked sight of him, now would be a great time to begin... trying.

She quietly tiptoed across the carpet and sat down right next to him on the edge of the bed. Her nightgown slid up, billowing around her middle, leaving her long legs exposed. The sudden movement of the mattress hadn't gone unnoticed, and Caleb drowsily spoke to her, "Oh hey, baby," without so much as opening his eyes or making a move to give her more room so she could lie down on her side of the bed.

"Hey," Hanna whispered as she reached out her arm and started stroking away the hair that had fallen down to his forehead, continuing her caresses further down on his arm. His skin had gotten cold due to the fact that he hadn't gotten under the covers in the middle of winter.

The warm touch of her hand finally did the trick and pulled him out of his sleepy state. He wordlessly put his hand behind her neck and drew her head closer in order to place a goodnight kiss on her lips. His hand slid down on her arm and landed on her naked thigh, resting there as he was still tired and started to drift away yet again. In his last conscious thought, Caleb couldn't exactly pinpoint why she didn't just lie down next to him and go to sleep.

She silently put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him until he came lying on his back. Then, seeing that he had even managed to unbuckle his belt, but had yet to unbutton his pants, she made quick work of looping the buttons through their holes in order to free Caleb from his restrictive nightwear. When her hands grazed over his delicate parts, Caleb jerked and sat up; now, he was fully awake.

Hanna suddenly had his full attention. She was sitting by his side, wordlessly gazing down at him and hoping that he would catch on quickly. In all of these years that they had been together, they never failed to read each other's faces and gestures even without speaking.

This was another one of those moments.

He worked himself free of his pants and boxers and lay back down again, knowing their well-attuned routine of silent seduction for the sake of quick satisfaction. He was holding out an arm for her, showing his readiness after the signs she had been giving to him.

With a plan in her head to seduce him, she hadn't even bothered to stay in her underwear when she had stood in the bathroom just minutes before.

In the stillness of the night, Hanna got up from the bed and pulled the only piece of clothing that was covering her body, her negligé, up over her head before letting it fall to the floor and climbing onto the mattress in order to lie down on top of him.

The simple idea of being able to have unprotected sex with him whenever they felt like it had given her hormones a jumpstart and she didn't feel like biding time with foreplay now. And judging by his immediate reaction to having exposed her naked body to him, though slightly obscured in the semi-dark, Hanna knew that Caleb was feeling just the same way.

Sleep could wait. Had to wait.

Any signs of physical weakness on his side had evaporated into thin air; he would never be too tired or too exhausted to resist her sultry temptation.

Between the two of them, there were years of experience and there were great expectations... both sufficing to bring their arousal to an unbearable level if it didn't get tended to immediately.

Neither of them had said another word as they started kissing fiercely while Caleb let his hands roam all over her body, tracing and studying her shape religiously by use of every finger, without omitting a single patch of skin as if he didn't already know it by heart from years of practice. Hanna was hovering above him with her hands entangled in his hair, returning the fervent approaches of his tongue in her mouth by heated attempts to have her teeth gently play catch with it. She could feel his hard erection, pressing into her lower stomach, and her own need was quickly boiling towards the point of no return.

Hanna was hovering above him with her hands entangled in his hair, returning the fervent approaches of his tongue in her mouth by heated attempts to have her teeth gently play catch with it. She could feel his hard erection, pressing into her lower stomach, and her own need was quickly boiling towards the point of no return.

When Caleb's hands simultaneously came to rest on her butt and vigorously pushed her lower body even further down onto himself, Hanna arched her back in reaction to the intense friction, prompting his hands to continue their exploration of her satiny skin on a part of her body that he hadn't had the opportunity to touch yet.

He just as forcefully compassed her breasts, which elicited a loud moan from Hanna. He had intended to pinch her sensitive nubs the way that he knew would drive her insane with ecstasy, but found them to be stiff already. He tilted up his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth before switching to the other one, all the while causing Hanna to let out a series of low wails.

When the feeling of pleasure became a little too intense for her liking, bordering on pain even, Hanna pulled back, searching for a final sign from him that would tell her they were both ready to go. She skidded downward, finding his throbbing penis before girding its tip with her lips in order to suck strongly on it. This time, Caleb's loud groans filled the room; he was already dangerously close and started clenching his fists that had been fondling her blonde mane. Hanna recognized his state of need and sensed that if she didn't stop immediately, they'd have a mess on their sheets instead of a chance for her at getting pregnant.

There was no blood left in Caleb's brain, which had disabled him from forming coherent sentences. His terse utterances of "down… now!" was sufficient to get her to comply with his forwardness. Not that she was minding anyway…

Hanna released him and laid down on her back, spreading her legs lightly; her breathing sounded labored already. Caleb was quick to get up on his knees and soon enough, he was right in front of her, grabbing her by the waist to pull her further to where he needed to have her. His hands traveled down on her legs, seizing her by the knee bends in order to spread her legs further apart.

Now, there was no holding back any longer. He let out a short grunt as he entered her in one swift movement, facilitated by her severe wetness. When he was sheathed all the way up to the hilt, he bent down in order to support his weight on his elbows. Hanna instinctively let her hands wander all across his back, up and down, and up again, kneading his presumably sore muscles. She lay with her eyes squeezed shut, enjoying the quick succession of Caleb's thrusts that were gradually bringing her closer to the edge. It wasn't long before the wave of ecstasy hit her hard and she peaked, causing her to repeatedly utter the only word she was capable of saying, "Yes… yes… yes", again and again until she had lost all of her breath and lay trembling and sweating beneath him. For a second, she opened her eyes and was surprised to find he had slowed down and was watching her with an amused expression on his face. "Well, that was brisk," he huffed into her ear before, little by little, he was starting to increase the pace of his thrusts again.

For a second, she opened her eyes and was surprised to find he had slowed down and was watching her with an amused expression on his face. "Well, that was brisk," he huffed into her ear before, little by little, he was starting to increase the pace of his thrusts again.

"Would you just shut up?" Hanna said, slightly embarrassed. However, just a second later, she grinned up at him with glazed eyes and continued to stroke over the length of his back.

After he had been hovering at the pinnacle to watch her climax, Caleb didn't take long to fall over the edge, too. He came in long spurts, emitting unabashed groans as he buried his head in the crook of her neck with Hanna holding on tight to his shoulders.

Panting heavily, Caleb rolled over to the side and pulled her along with him. They lay entwined and still connected, allowing the sensations deep within their bodies to subside slowly. "I needed that tonight," Hanna's quiet voice broke the silence that had started to encompass them in the afterglow.

In their drive for a quick release, they both hadn't bothered to share any passionate kisses and were now beginning to make good for what they had refrained from, tenfold. Their lips met in lingering kisses, despite their lack of breath.

"You know I wanted to ravish you in that storage unit as soon as I saw our table," Caleb told her eventually, picking up their conversation from where they had abandoned it in order to unwind. "But you really didn't look good today, Han," he added with concern in his voice.

"I'm pretty sure it's nothing. Just a little bit too much stress going on in the last couple of months, I guess." She yawned before murmuring sleepily, "Or maybe it's still the jet lag or something."

She lay with her eyes closed and didn't see that Caleb was frowning at her with disbelief, trying not to read too much into the fact that they had just been on a very relaxing vacation for three long weeks... not to mention that Rosewood and Aruba had been in the very same time zone.

"So your cramps are gone, too, I assume?" He tried gathering more information about her state of health, always the concerned husband.

"They're better," Hanna said before she let out another yawn.

"Alright, that's good... Try to get some sleep." He said and brushed a small kiss against her forehead. "Because you're gonna need the energy in order to help me hoist up that table first thing in the morning."

"Mkay," came her mumbled response as she was almost immediately asleep already. "Night!"

"Good night, baby!"

They shared a final kiss before Caleb pulled out of her and sat up on the bed.

"Baby is good. I think I like this one the best," Hanna murmured drowsily as she turned her back on him. He quickly reached for a tissue from the box of Kleenex that was standing on their night table and cleaned himself. Then, before he had laid back down again, he picked up their blanket, which had fallen down to the floor earlier during their frenzy. He cuddled up close against her warm back, spooning her and placing his free hand on her stomach, hoping its warmth would make the last remnants of pain subside.

 **X**

Hanna had only been able to sleep for a short while. After she had woken up again, she could feel Caleb's naked skin pressing against her back, and he was exhaling little blows of warm air directly into her neck. It was the most pleasant position for her to fall right back asleep, and on most days, a sure-fire way, unquestionably.

But today, she just wasn't tired enough and therefore lay awake for a long time, dwelling on her thoughts about the day before. She had met Jordan again, the man who had taken the place by her side after Caleb had run away from her. In a simple twist of fate, they had both found their happy place – it just wasn't with each other… was probably never meant to be. He had been her rebound guy, who just happened to stay around for a little bit longer. But she had never seriously considered having a family with him.

And here she was now, back with Caleb, married and taking the next step… towards being a mother… it was all happening in a matter of months, and she still had trouble wrapping her head around it.

She didn't dare to move a muscle in order to avoid rousing him again, and when she finally managed to fall asleep again, it had been the early hours of morning already.

Once she was dead asleep, she didn't notice Caleb waking up and lying awake next to her for a long time. And she certainly didn't notice when he eventually got up quietly and left the warm cocoon of their bed.

By 8:30am, Hanna awoke to the sounds of music playing outside of their bedroom, time and again interspersed with the shuffling of feet and unfamiliar thuds on their hardwood floor. She looked around in confusion because Caleb hadn't woken her up like he usually did after he had finished his shower and also because she was naked, head-to-toe. She got up and put on her silk dressing gown before leaving their bedroom in order to check out where all of the commotion was coming from.

As soon as she had stepped into their living room, her eyes widened in shock: the usually spacious room looked cluttered as all of her boxes from storage had been brought upstairs and were now standing wherever Caleb had found an empty spot to dump one.

Since their front door was open and her husband nowhere to be seen, Hanna concluded that he had to be downstairs picking up the next box. She figured he had to have gotten up early to unload the rental truck so that he could return the car without being charged for extra time.

Having rounded the obstacle course made up of moving boxes, she eventually found her way to their kitchen unit and turned off the loud music which didn't meet her taste. Then, she started preparing the coffee machine for the first of many caffeine infusions of the day.

Checking the kitchen cabinet for clean mugs brought about the next pleasant surprise as somehow, Caleb had found the time to do their dishes. However, her good mood was about to be shattered when a wave of nausea hit her as soon as the hot water was running through the coffee filter. Hanna had to turn off the machine in order to keep herself from gagging. How odd, she thought when she stood at their opened bay window, catching a whiff of fresh air, before blaming her body's weird reaction to her favorite beverage to a troubled stomach, which as her doctor had told her, could be normal for someone who had been under so much stress like she had been.

From a distance, she could see Caleb walking towards their apartment building, carrying a cardboard tray with two cups and a paper bag with the familiar Brew print on it. When he suddenly switched the paper bag to his other hand, now juggling drinks and food, and pulled out his phone from the back pocket of his pants, she figured he had an incoming phone call. She didn't mean to listen in, but somehow, incoherent parts of his mumbled speech traveled all the way up to her ear while he walked the last yards up to their door.

"Hanna doesn't know," was the first of his mumblings that she could fully understand. It immediately piqued her curiosity, making her think the worst like she always did when she felt she hadn't been let in on a secret. A. and A.D. had turned her into that mistrusting shadow of herself, and she hated the fact that even after all this time that he had been helping her out with the board game, Hanna still found reasons to doubt Caleb's honesty.

Eventually, she heard him speak more clearly when he stopped dead in his tracks right underneath her window, apparently hesitating to enter the building while he was still on the phone. Hanna stepped back from the window, not wanting Caleb to catch a glimpse of her, eavesdropping as she was.

"I don't know how to break it to her. I think this is gonna tear her up after everything she's been through," Caleb spoke into his phone. It didn't help making her feel better about his words. For all she knew, he had just confirmed that whatever the phone call was about, it had to be bad news.

Suddenly, his voice was no longer audible, and she figured he had eventually gotten inside the house anyway. Hanna walked back to the kitchen, stopping at the refrigerator in order to settle for a bottle of water. The feeling of nausea was still lingering in the pit of her stomach, yet it was no longer due to the disturbing smell of coffee. Suspiciousness as to what kind of news Caleb was about to break to her, had taken over control.

A few seconds later, Caleb appeared at the door of their loft and started smiling broadly when he spotted her behind the kitchen island. "Hey, someone's finally up. Good morning!" He kicked the door shut with his heel and walked over to her before placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

Hanna cracked a smile, trying hard to look unsuspecting. "Thank you for carrying up all those boxes. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, you can sit down and relax. I brought you tea and a cream-cheese bagel from the Brew." Caleb placed a steaming cup and the paper bag in front of her, before sipping at his own cup. "And when you've finished your breakfast, you can help me with our table." He busied himself shoving boxes to one side of their living room, creating stacks of boxes in order to make room to move within their already crammed place.

t'Uh, thanks." Hanna sat down on one of the bar stools, watching him as he efficiently worked his way through her stuff. At some point in the past, she had stopped wondering how he always knew what she needed the most, so his idea to bring her tea on this very morning when she hadn't been able to stand the smell of coffee, didn't stir any surprised reactions on her part. She did, however, wonder when he was going to break the bad news to her.

At long last, when all of the boxes had been piled up by the wall, Caleb proceeded pushing the couch, the end tables, their two chairs and a coffee table aside in order to make room for their new dining space. Every so often, he looked up to exchange glances with Hanna, smiling inwardly at the slightly [conspicuous] impression he kept getting from watching her watch him.

"What do you think? Any chance the table will look good here?" He said when he was finished with the task at hand. He crossed the distance between them and positioned himself between her legs while engulfing her in his arms. Having to tilt his head up in order to reach her mouth, he kissed her again, two, three times. "Hmmm," he said before taking a bite off of her bagel. "How are you today? You seemed to be feeling all better early this morning," he grinned at her, prompting Hanna to contemplate how long he was planning to uphold his act without telling her what was actually going on in his mind. But then again, she didn't want to be the one broaching the subject because she didn't want to come across as being too nosy. She quickly decided to play along with him.

"l am feeling better," she answered his question truthfully, "Knowing I won't have to carry any of these boxes upstairs anymore, how can I not? Thanks!" She put the rest of her bagel back into its paper bag and put her arms around Caleb's neck.

"No worries," he shrugged before their mouths met for another series of lingering kisses.

"I saw you did the dishes, too," Hanna noted in between kisses.

"Yeah, I couldn't really sleep for much longer after our little rendezvous in bed," Caleb told her.

Thinking she had been given her cue, Hanna queried, "Why? Had anything important going on in that pretty head of yours that was keeping you awake?"

"Nothing specific... little things, really," Caleb shrugged.

"Like what?" She probed him.

"Like the thought of us trying for a baby, and how little this loft is actually suitable to raise a baby here. Have you ever thought about it?" He pulled back from her and pointed his arm at various directions in their living room. "Like... take that spiral staircase over there. Not baby-proof. Or..." Caleb left his spot right in front of her and strode through the open space he had just created for their dinner table. "That fireplace over here, in the middle of the room? Seriously? Not baby-proof. Or... or..." He walked past the fireplace, stopping by their windows. "Don't even get me started with the settee here. They could easily climb on top of it and fall out of the window." He made a corresponding motion with his hands. "Why don't we just tie them up to their little high chair as soon as they can walk?"

At that, Hanna burst into a laugh and she cocked her head, shaking it vigorously while smiling at his attempts to obscure what was really going on. "Caleb, we have plenty of time to figure that out. Or is it something else that you're suggesting?" She huffed at him, prompting him to look away from their window and back to her. And all he saw was her messy early morning hair and her gaping gown which was more revealing than enveloping.

"I'm suggesting…" he quickly turned on his heel and walked back to her, grabbing her hand as he continued walking towards the door to their hallway. "...that we hoist up that table right now and resume practicing so you can distract me from having all these reservations about raising a kid here."

His reaction left Hanna speechless as he again managed to get away without supplying further information about his unsettling phone conversation, so much so that she even forgot she was still clad in nothing more than her knee-length dressing gown and about to step outside on the curb in it.

Together, they ran down the stairs and got the heavy piece of furniture off of the moving truck. Then, after noticing that it was way too big to fit into the elevator, they started carrying it up the two flights of stairs, stopping on the first floor landing for a moment in order to catch their breaths. Eventually, they made it all the way upstairs and simultaneously dropped their load in the middle of their living room.

"I've been wondering, what happened to our chairs? How are we supposed to sit at the table?" Caleb said, shooting her a questioning look as he stood with his hands at his waist. "Don't tell me we'll have to go shopping for matching chairs..." He added with an exasperated air in his voice.

"Our old chairs? Jordan didn't like them and had a load of bulk waste picked up along with a bunch of other stuff when I moved into his place. We got a set of matching chairs from his grandmother. But I never liked them anyway," Hanna explained indifferently, "I think they were some sort of heirloom belonging to his family since the beginning of the last century."

"Speaking of heirlooms..." Caleb stopped speaking mid-sentence and rounded the table. He found Hanna still gasping for air, looking at him with a glazed expression.

Memories of their happy times in New York had started resurfacing right before her eyes. The table... her safe haven... scratches... having sex on the table... often, but especially when they had made up after they'd had been fighting. Things had always gone out of control quickly when their passion for each other had re-awoken in the aftermath of another heated argument.

That period in their lives seemed like a million years ago now. Ever since they had gotten back together, she couldn't pinpoint when they'd last argued with each other. Things were so different now. Caleb was so much different, now that they were living together in Rosewood and no longer in the confined space of their apartment in New York's East Village which was only the size of a shoe box – not that they had minded in the beginning... He seemed so at ease

She saw him approach her slowly, cat-like, and the expression on his face kicked off a tingle in her belly. Her body seemed to turn around of its own volition, expecting a familiar routine to find its way back to their relationship.

"We'll just have to eat directly off of the table," he said suggestively. "No pun intended." Caleb put his hands on her butt and lifted her up, placing her on the tabletop with slightly dwindling patience. His hands started roaming across her naked thighs, which came into his view when her dressing gown had slid aside, exposing her creamy skin underneath. He bent down in order to nudge her gown open with his head until her cleavage was revealed, too. His mouth touched down on the swell of her breasts before working its way up along her collarbone.

Hanna closed her eyes, convinced now that her expectations were about to be fulfilled. She was barely able to contain herself.

Neither one of them noticed the steps coming closer outside in the hallway. When the shuffling feet had reached the open door of their apartment, a voice suddenly filled the air, and both broke apart in terror.

"Oh come on, guys! You have got to be kidding me! Are you still acting like bunnies, consummating all the time?" said Emily as she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the couple which couldn't be more telling.

Hanna blushed and quickly jumped off the table, holding her dressing gown in place in order to hide her nude front. "Hey, Em," she said as she walked past her friend and over to the door.

Caleb remained rooted to the spot, not daring to turn around and show the even more embarrassing side of himself. "Hey! Just come on in," he said, seemingly on edge.

"At least you could have closed the front door," Emily added with a wink, letting her friends know that she found the situation rather funny. "Seriously, every time I walk in here, you two seem to be all over each other."

"It's always nice to see you, too. How can we help you?" Caleb asked her, smiling broadly at her on purpose as he finally turned around to face her.

"I just stopped by to ask when you two are gonna be moving out. You're gonna buy it, won't you?"

They both looked at her incredulously, before Caleb's expression changed and he shot Emily a warning look. "What do you mean?" Hanna was first to respond. "Buy what?"

"I just drove by your old home and I saw the 'for sale' sign outside on the lawn." Emily strode past the table in order to reach the new position of the couch. "Well, wow. This is nice. Is this a new table?" She put her hand on the tabletop, feeling the surface of the intarsia.

Hanna frowned at her with disbelief, taken aback by this new piece of information she hadn't had any idea of. "Uh, no. It's our old table," she answered anyway, prompting Emily to let go of the woodwork before she awkwardly held it up. Then, she sat down on the couch and leaned back into the cushions.

"What are you talking about? A 'for sale' sign? My mom's selling our house?" Hanna inquired, her voice cracking.

Before Emily could answer her question, Hanna had turned on her heel and left the room.

"What did I say?" She asked innocently, shooting Caleb a skeptical look.

He closed his eyes for a moment. "All the wrong things, Em. All the wrong things," he said before he quickly followed Hanna to their bedroom.

 _to be continued…_

* * *

 **Sorry you had to wait that long for an update. Hope you liked it anyway. Review?**

 **Zip :-)**


	6. Chapter 6

**XXXXX**

 **Chapter 6**

 **XXXXX**

Hanna sat on the bed, clutching her cell phone and waiting for Caleb to close the door behind him. She had missed four calls from her mom, three of which last night after she had fallen asleep on the couch and had forgotten to empty out her purse.

"Did you know about this?" she approached him offensively the second Caleb had entered the room after her.

"Well, yes," he said then, adding with a soft voice, "But I've only known since yesterday. Your mom texted me when she couldn't reach you on your phone after you had spaced out last night." He walked over to their bed and sat down next to her.

"But... Why?" Hanna said while staring at the wall. "ls she in any financial trouble? And... Where is she going to live?"

"Han, I didn't want you to find out this way, and your mom wanted to tell you the news in person." He reached out with his hand and gently stroked her hair back so that he could see her face. "She was going to come by this morning and talk to you."

"Caleb? Is there anything that you know but don't want to tell me?" Hanna finally turned around and looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overreact." She let her head drop down to his shoulder, and he put his arm around her. "l don't even know why I am being so emotional about this. I could have had the house three years ago, but I didn't want it then."

He already knew the answer to the question that had popped up in his mind, but asked her anyway, just to make sure, "You didn't want it?"

"No," she said quietly. "It was shortly after our breakup and I couldn't deal with all the memories that came with it... concerning you... and... us."

Caleb saw his assumptions confirmed and nodded his understanding, all the while continuing to stroke her head in a soothing manner.

"But why didn't she ask me now if I wanted to have it?" Hanna murmured, staring incredulously at their joined hands in her lap.

He looked slightly taken aback. This was not going according to his plan. "What? Are you seriously consider buying it now?"

"Maybe. I don't know yet. I mean… It's been my home for as long as I can remember," she said. "I never thought I'd see the day coming that my mom would move out of my childhood home and sell it to someone else. Just like there was a very long period in my life that I didn't expect us to ever see each other again, not to mention the fact that we would be married one day. But now those two things have become reality and… I just always figured that if my mom actually moved out, we would have been able to make my old house _our_ new home."

His face looked guilt-stricken. "Hanna? Remember that surprise I told you about? That I wanted to show you when we were back at home?"

"Yes?" she asked warily.

"I didn't want to tell you in New York yesterday because there was something that I wanted you to see first."

"Was this it? The 'for sale' sign?" She looked down at the phone in her lap before she brought her head up again in order to face him at long last.

"Uh..., no!" He smirked slightly, "I'm only down for the good surprises. I had no idea Ashley was going to sell it until yesterday."

"Then... what is it?" Her voice sounded tired, and she really didn't know if she wanted to know what it was.

He got up hesitantly and walked over to the closet. After rummaging through the contents of his sock drawer, he found the batch of papers exactly the way he had left it the night before.

Caleb drew in a deep breath and laid the documents in Hanna's lap, prompting her to look up at him in confusion. "What is it?" She started leafing through the heap, creasing her forehead. "A house listing? What does this mean?"

He cleared his throat, steadying his voice in order to break the news, which he hoped she would like just as much as he did. "Um… that software I developed and kept testing with a bunch of my fellow techies in the last couple of weeks…"

"The one that Lucas wanted to buy? What about it?" Hanna cut in.

"Well, he _is_ buying it. And he already paid me an advance...

"Wow! That's so great, Caleb!" she said, feeling her own spirits lifting at last just because of her husband's success.

"Yeah, it is. Lucas has been pretty generous with his offer, and he's willing to pay way more than I thought the software was worth," he paused to wait until their gazes met. "And I thought that we could use the money to make a down payment… for a new house."

"A new house?" Hanna tried to intervene. "But what about the one my mom's selling? I'm pretty sure that we won't get a better offer."

Caleb sat back down again, "Han, I've thought about this for a long time. Well… ever since I sprained my ankle when I accidentally tripped over your new garment rack in the dark that you had knocked over after you couldn't find your fabric swatches. It was then that I knew that we should move out of the loft so that you can use it as your workspace only. You'd finally have more space to store your stuff and have customers over for fittings. You could even turn it into a fashion boutique, if you want."

"Which is why I think we should seriously consider buying my mom's house," Hanna quickly said. "It's so close by; it would be perfect."

"Hanna?" Caleb slid down the edge of the bed and knelt down in front of her. "As much as I love the idea of the two of us moving into the place where we started our relationship…,"He couldn't help but smile at the memory of that moment, "I want us to start our family in a place where we can make whole new memories. No terrified throwbacks thinking of the dollhouse when you walk up to the room that used to be yours, no danger of having a stranger crash in our basement in case we ever get to have a daughter that's as hospitable as you were back then."

They both laughed out loud, and Hanna realized he had a point. "Ok, alright. What did you have in mind? What did you want me to see?"

Caleb handed her one of the papers showing pictures of a wooden blue, Queen Anne style house and watched her face so that he could catch her instant reaction. The crease on her forehead disappeared as her eyes swept over the images of the house's exterior and interiors.

"lt's so pretty." Hanna asked without taking her eyes off the paper, a hint of admiration in her voice filtering through. "But it's not in Rosewood, is it?"

"Um…," Caleb turned the page over and showed her the printout of a map. "This house is in Blue Bell, about a half hour drive from here. So, it's close to your mom, close to the loft, but not too close to the madness that is Rosewood. I don't think I can settle down here forever."

"How did you find it?" Hanna studied the second page of the house's listing, going through the details of what it said about the neighborhood and community.

"I drove by the other day when I took Henry home after his car had broken down." He looked at his watch and got up. "Listen, it's just an idea and I think we should both have a look at it in person. And if you don't want it, we'll just keep looking for something else together," he said, pacing the room.

"I love it," Hanna said, lost in thought, inwardly picturing herself and Caleb sitting on the wraparound verandah with a bassinet between them, staring into the setting sun…

There was a knock on the front door, abruptly ending Hanna's daydream.

"That's probably Ashley. We'll continue this later, alright?" Caleb said as he got up again and left the bedroom in order to let in the expected guest. Hanna put the papers aside and followed him to the living room where she found that Emily was no longer waiting for her. Instead, Hanna lunged into the arms of her mother as soon as she had entered the apartment. "Mom!"

"There's my girl," Ashley Marin greeted her daughter, "Did you have a nice honeymoon? You didn't text or snapchat or facetime anyone or anything at all."

"Yeah… no," Hanna answered, confused about the jauntiness with which her mom had approached her. "Mom? You're selling our house? Why? Where are you going to live?" She shot her most urging questions at her mother.

Ashley smiled weakly and sat them down on the couch while Caleb busied himself in the kitchen, preparing drinks for the two most important women in his life.

"Ok, first of all. I sold the house this morning. And you have Caleb to thank for that… kind of" she said with a wink at her son-in-law, who looked like he had been caught off-guard.

"Wait, what?" Hanna and Caleb said simultaneously, prompting the latter to reiterate his own surprise and adding, "Me?" He picked up the tray with glasses and a pitcher of water and carried it over to the couch table.

The frown on Hanna's forehead reappeared, and Ashley hurried to explain, "A couple of weeks ago, Ted suggested I sell the house and move into one of the suites at the Radley.

"Why would he suggest something like that?" Hanna asked when she wasn't able to keep up with her mom's train of thought.

"I had a scary moment when I was all alone in the house at night, thinking there was a burglar," she explained calmly.

"Why didn't you call me?" Hanna yelled quickly, a tad indignant.

"Well, first off, you didn't have your phone turned on. And secondly, it was during your vacation," Ashley defended her actions. "Anyway, I realized that the house had become too big for me to live there all by myself. So during that night I called Ted to come over and keep me company," she went on, ignoring her daughter's whimsical grin, "and we got into talking… and he… made a proposition. It took me a while to make up my mind about it, but then I remembered Caleb hogging the couch in our basement when he was homeless, and last night, I finally told Ted that I was ready to sell."

She stopped talking, thinking she had said everything that needed to be explained. But then, Ashley Marin saw her daughter exchange glances with Caleb, both silently asking the other if they had a clue as to what she was trying to tell them. Their confused expression caused her to exhale deeply before starting all over again. "Ted proposed selling the house to the church so that they can constitute some sort of a half-way house for troubled teens, or kids who have to be removed from potentially dangerous families, you know... just the kind of accommodation that Caleb-"

"-would have needed back when I was 17 and in this kind of situation," Caleb finished her sentence. Ashley closed her eyes knowingly before turning to see Hanna's reaction.

"Wow, mom!" Hanna said, deeply impressed. "Oh my god, that is such a great idea." She leaned over to hug her mother, desperately trying to hide her face behind her back so she wouldn't catch her breaking out into silent tears… again. Hanna damned her own emotionality, blaming it on premenstrual symptoms and hoping she'd be back to her old self again within the next forty-eight hours.

"It really is," Caleb chimed in, "Let me know if there's anything that I can help you with, Ashley."

"Actually, there is," she started, "Once it's been refurbished and appropriately furnished, they could use your help installing a security system, bringing wifi to all the rooms, stuff like that."

"Uh, sure. Yeah, I can do that." He patted her back as he stood to set the table for their breakfast together.

 **XX**

At nighttime, as the couple lay in bed, relaxing together in post-coital bliss, Caleb wanted to pick up their conversation from after lunch. He and Hanna had sat at their table together, hovering over the printouts of all the house listings within a half-hour radius of Rosewood that he had found for them.

He wanted her to have a say in the decision, too, wanted her to choose the exact place she pictured herself raising her own family. Be it white picket fences or 8-feet tall brick walls. The main point was getting away from Rosewood. And now that they were trying to get pregnant, Caleb felt like settling down somewhere closer to a grandparent than New York could ever be.

Then in the afternoon, Caleb had been called in by his mother-in-law to fix some issues at the Radley and he hadn't been able to return home until after midnight. By then, Hanna had been in bed already, an open magazine on her chest bearing proof of her attempt to wait up for him. Caleb had crawled into bed with her, successfully managing to wake her with a single kiss on her cheek. Then, he had plucked the latest edition of _Good Housekeeping_ from her hands, no questions asked, and tossed it to the floor before dedicating his hands and mouth to his wife in order to make good for being away for so many hours.

"So, you seemed to really like that one house with the wraparound verandah, didn't you?" he asked in the stillness of the night after her breathing had evened out and his own body had stopped trembling. He could feel the slightest hum coming from her mouth reverberate against his skin, telling him she must have heard his question. He waited a few seconds to see if she had anything more to say, but to no avail.

"Did you know that it has that walk-in closet in the master bedroom? You've always wanted one of those, right?" Caleb's pursuit to get her attention back fell through, and her silence left him thinking that maybe she just didn't want to talk about houses and moving at that moment.

"Han?" he tried again one final time, but quickly noticed that his low voice was bound to fail at reaching her, familiar sounds telling him that Hanna had already fallen asleep, draped over his stomach and leaving little room for him to make himself comfortable. "So… _Good Housekeeping_? Really?" he whispered, knowing fully well that she wouldn't be able to respond to him anymore. "I have to remember reading a copy of that the next time I'm stricken by insomnia.

Caleb closed his eyes, but to his dismay, sleep wouldn't come. Twenty minutes later, he grabbed the iPad from his bedside table and started checking his emails. As the clock was ticking by, he got some work done for his IT business and the impending sell-off to Lucas.

At some point, Hanna stirred in her sleep causing Caleb to startle, too. "Hey! Are you still up?" she asked after opening her eyes and seeing him tap randomly on the iPad.

"Hey you." Caleb turned off the iPad and set it down on his night table. "Fallen asleep on me again?"

Hanna saw his smile even though it was now dark in their bedroom. "Sorry."

"Don't be, it's after two already. Can't have you wide awake and jumping at me every night all night anymore now, can l?" Caleb joked while using his now free hand to tousle her hair.

"Have you been laying like this the whole time?" Hanna commented on his awkward position halfway sitting, halfway laying against a crooked stack of pillows — which had allowed her to get a good one and a half hour of sleep after their lovemaking.

"Well, you hardly gave me any choice. You were down and out within thirty seconds, and I didn't dare waking you up. You were snoring!" Caleb said.

"l was not!" she raised her voice to defend herself.

"Were too!" he said and let out a chortle.

"I never snore," she argued.

"Well, you did just now. It's been keeping me up all night," Caleb exaggerated.

"Really? You haven't been sleeping?" Hanna opted for distraction.

"It's alright. I got some work done and I had to think a few things over anyway," he explained. "Plus, you've been hoarding all of our blanket, I was cold over here."

"Oh," came her surprised reaction. She had fallen asleep earlier with her head resting on his stomach and her arm pressing against his hip bone, and now her limbs were aching from the unusual angle at which she had simply dropped down on Caleb in a state of exhaustion. She repositioned herself next to him, getting comfortable again as she draped the large blanket over both of their bodies. Closing her eyes she tried blocking out the urge to go to the bathroom again. She didn't want to leave the cozy warmth of their bed, thinking that at her state of fatigue, she would pass out on the toilet and she had sworn to herself that her college days were definitely over.

"Thinking what over?" Hanna inquired. "Are you having doubts about us starting-a She didn't get to finish her question as Caleb quickly reassured her, "No, no, that's not it. I'm a hundred percent sure about that. But..." He turned silent while readjusting the pillows in his back before settling down again. He let out a deep sigh. "l know it may be a little early for you. But I feel like this is the right time."

"It's not early for me. Remember, I'm the one who suggested it?" Hanna misunderstood.

"Do you know what we should do tomorrow?" he asked, his thoughts traveling to a different subject than what she had in mind.

"Wake up early, have sex and try to get pregnant?" Hanna's drowsy mind didn't catch up with his change in tack. "And then we sleep in, have breakfast in bed together and go at it again?" Hanna said sleepily. That was all she could think of lately, she had to admit to herself inwardly. But surely he didn't mean to start picking out names or go furniture shopping for their future baby or did he? She was starting to doze off in her comfortable place right by his side, so she almost missed his low laughter that came in response, barely audible to her ears.

"I definitely wouldn't mind doing that, too, but what I meant..." Hanna heard his voice travel to her, sounding like it was coming from a far distance, and she had to try really hard to take in the words through the clouds of her tired mind. "...morning off... listings... house... Blue Bell... pregnant," the words lingered in the air, waiting to be processed by Hanna, and all of a sudden she was wide awake. Something in her brain had clicked but she couldn't make sense of her sudden alertness. "What?" she asked in confusion.

"Never mind, I can tell you in the morning. Go back to sleep," Caleb pressed a light kiss against her forehead before sliding down on the mattress. "I love you."

He sounded a little crestfallen, and now Hanna felt like being unable to sleep in that situation. "No, no, no. Wait! I'm up," Hanna said as she rose from her lying position and sat back against the headboard next to Caleb . She turned on the small lamp standing on her bedside table to support her statement.

In the sudden brightness of the room she saw his almost solemn expression, and for a moment, she wondered what kind of serious issue had been keeping him awake all night besides not being warm and covered by a blanket.

"We should drive up to Blue Bell and take a look at that house... you know, the one with the wraparound verandah that I showed you yesterday," he said without taking his gaze off of her, even though the light behind her head hurt his tired eyes. "We should make use of our time while we're not pregnant yet and really start looking into getting the perfect home for us."

His use of the word 'we' along with 'pregnant' didn't go unnoticed by her. Somehow, it even managed to soften the blow of coming to terms with the fact that very soon, she wouldn't be able to walk through the doors of her childhood home just like that any longer. "Does it come with a backyard at least larger than a towel spread out flat? Because if we'll have a boy one day, he'll be wanting to play soccer with his friends, and you know that I won't have him go anywhere alone without having a watchful eye out on him."

"Hanna, the backyard is just the perfect size. And from what I remember seeing in the pictures, there's even a few trees. I could build a tree house for him one day."

"Or her," Hanna reminded him, snubbed. "I'm pretty sure any kid of ours is going to be the outdoor-sy type. Prepare for some backyard camping, Mister! Oh, and you better ask Toby to build that treehouse with you... or even better... pay him to build it for you. I've seen you drill holes in the walls of our New York apartment and it wasn't a pretty sight," she joked, and Caleb quickly chimed in.

"So, you're in? I can call the realtor and make an appointment for later this afternoon?" he looked at her, full of hope.

"Yeah, sure. Couldn't hurt to take a look at it in person," Hanna cracked a smile. "I mean yeah, let's do this," she quickly added, fueling his excitement. "Was that it? Was that what was going on in your mind all night?" She saw him close his eyes in shame. "Why those doubts?"

"Because I thought with all the changes going on lately, I didn't think you'd be open for taking that step so soon." Caleb felt bad for thinking about her post-traumatic mental state in a situation when it never seemed to be an issue for her.

"What changes? Us getting married? Us agreeing we're ready to start our own family?" Hanna doubted. "Caleb, us getting married is the best thing that ever happened to me. It's something that I had wanted for so long and for a dragging period of time never thought I'd get."

"Actually, I was referring to us leaving Rosewood now… forever." Caleb's hand was now cupping her face. "Everything seems to be changing at the moment whether we want it or not. Your old house will be sold. Spencer is leaving town. Emily and Alison are going to be busy taking care of their kid… Aria and Ezra will soon be married and move someplace else… And Garner has been wanting to buy the loft for some time now. He's probably going to show up on our doorstep with all of his belongings the day we sign the escrow papers." Caleb chuckled.

"Well, maybe you were right in thinking that now might be the perfect time for us to go," Hanna admitted.

"It'll be different this time. If we're going away there will be no safe haven for us to come back to," Caleb said.

"We'll make our own safe haven," Hanna quickly assured him. "And this time I'm dead certain that we're going to make it work."

"Hand me the phone," Caleb said, excitement sounding in his voice. "I'm calling the realtor right now."

"Right now? It's 2:30 in the morning!" Hanna exclaimed, laughing at his impetuousness.

"Shit, you're right." He threw his head back and started laughing with her. "I don't think I can sleep now. I'm too excited."

"Who said anything about going back to sleep?" Hanna turned around and switched off the light behind her.

 _to be continued…_


	7. Chapter 7

**XXXXX**

 **Chapter 7**

 **XXXXX**

"Are you sure this is the right direction?" Hanna looked up from the map on her phone, squinting her eyes while trying to read street signs in the glistening sun that was shining down on them the next day. It was early in the afternoon and they were driving through the quiet neighborhood of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

"Relax, baby. I've got this," Caleb put his right hand on her thigh in a soothing manner. "We should be there in about two minutes." He didn't need Hanna to give him directions right from her phone; he had memorized them that morning after making the appointment with the real estate agent. But this had given her something to do on their half-hour drive without having to think of her unsettled work situation for once.

"There! Royal Oak Drive," Hanna yelled, pointing her finger in the direction of the street sign she had just managed to spot in the distance.

Caleb threw her a sideways glance and started laughing. It had been a while since he'd seen his wife _that_ excited.

"Sorry," Hanna muttered in the passenger's seat next to him. "I'm just... kind of nervous and I don't even know why."

"That's okay. I understand. It's a big step... Leaving Rosewood behind," he removed his hand from her lap to take a sharp turn at the corner, entering a broad and winding alley. "And I know we'd left it behind once before when we moved to New York. But this is different. New York was just another starting point..." His hand was now back in her lap, holding onto Hanna's hand. "For our careers, for us living together, for us to be living a life far away from A. or A.D. or whoever…" he trailed off, focusing on finding the object of their destination.

The folder with the printout of the house listing lay in Hanna's lap so she knew what to look for on both sides of the street. There were small kids outside on the street, some playing ball, one riding their bicycle, teenagers watching and laughing as they were filming each other trying out a Segway. The commotion in the street forced Caleb to slow down the car.

Eventually, the light-blue Victorian with a wraparound verandah came into view behind neatly trimmed, yet bleak hedges on the right-hand side. "There it is," both people in the car pointed out in unison.

Caleb turned to the curb, bringing the car to a stop. The couple got out and stepped onto the sidewalk, looking in all directions to see if their realtor was waiting for them close by. But apart from the children playing in the street, there was no other person to be seen.

Hanna's phone rang and she turned away to answer it. Caleb stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans, biding his time all alone.

A little girl approached their car slowly on her bike. She was about six years old, wore a warm ski outfit that seemed way to bulky for her size, and underneath a teal-colored woolen beanie hat, tufts of curly red hair were showing. She got off a few feet short of their position and proceeded to push her bike until she had reached the Jeep. There, she let her bike drop to the ground and planted herself in front of Caleb. "Excuse me, Mister?"

Caleb, who had gotten out his phone and was now checking to see if the realtor had left any messages, was startled by the unfamiliar voice. "Yeah, uuhh… Hey, kiddo."

"Are you here to buy the Ferguson's house, too?" The red-haired girl stood with her arms crossed, her facial features relaxing a little when she finally caught a glimpse of Caleb's entire face as he looked up from his phone.

"Uuuh, I don't know yet. Maybe," Caleb said in a friendly manner. "Do you live here?"

"My mom says I'm not allowed to tell strangers where I live," she quickly said.

"That's good. I mean you're a good girl for listening to your mom," Caleb smiled at her.

"You look like a nice stranger, though. All the other families that came to look at the house were so old and they had old kids who even had their own iPhones. They would surely never play with me." She looked at him with a sad face. "Do you have kids?"

Caleb smiled a little more. "Uh, no. Not yet. One day, I hope."

The girl pulled a small notepad from the pocket of her ski overall and jotted down some notes.

"Are you with the neighborhood watch or something?" The adult man asked with graveness, trying hard to stifle a laugh when he realized that the child couldn't really write yet, but instead simply scribbled on the pad.

"Kind of. What's your name?" the girl continued her interrogation.

"Uh, my name's Caleb and that is my wife Hanna," his head pointed in the direction of where Hanna stood while talking on her phone. "What's yours?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you my name either," the redhead persisted, looking up when Hanna joined them.

"You're right, I'm sorry." Caleb told her as he opened the passenger door and bent down to retrieve his wallet from the glove compartment. When he shut the door again, he noticed the little girl was still watching his every move closely. Feeling a little uneasy, he looked at Hanna, hoping she'd bring him up to speed about that recent phone call.

"That was Ted. He told me that Winston won't be able to make it," Hanna murmured. "His friend the handyman?" Caleb reacted surprised. "So he's not coming after all?"

"Yeah, no. We're on our own," Hanna said as she put the phone back into her purse.

"Great," Caleb muttered, sarcasm playing in his voice. "Where is the realtor anyways?" His head swerved around, as he heard a car engine splutter in the distance. But the vehicle disappeared at a corner, and his attention focused on their little spy again.

For a moment, Hanna considered leaving the conversation with the girl up to Caleb in order to check out the vicinity, but then she lowered her head to address her. "So, little lady... Do you like living here? Is it a nice neighborhood?"

"It's okay," the girl said, nonchalant. "Sometimes it's boring. Nothing ever happens here and my mom won't allow me to ride my bike past Mrs. Wheeler's house at the end of the street." The girl turned around to point at a cream-colored mansion farther down the road.

Hanna followed the direction of her hand and spotted a car which was approaching slowly, driving at considerate speed because some kids had started playing soccer in the middle of the street. Caleb saw it, too. They stood silently, waiting to see if the car was coming closer, thinking it had to be the realtor at long last.

The little girl looked up at the visitors, grateful for the distraction and felt the need to confide in them, "When I'm all grown-up, I want to be a police officer and solve crimes."

"Well, wow. More power to you," Caleb said, appreciative. "l think you'll be a great police officer. You're being very alert." He got down on one knee and opened his wallet. Then he fished a coin out of the pouch and leaned over to the girl. "Here's a quarter. You're doing such a good job observing the neighborhood. Will you watch my car for me while we're in the Ferguson's house?"

The girl pretended having to think it over before quickly answering, "Okay." She took the quarter and put it into her pocket, along with the notepad. Then, she brought her head closer to Caleb's, saying quietly, "I'm Annie, by the way, and I live next door."

And then, for the first time, her lips cracked a smile, revealing two missing front teeth. "Thank you, Mister."

The car stopped on the other side of the street and soon after, the clicking of heels walking over the blacktop disrupted the quiet peacefulness of the suburban neighborhood.

Annie stepped away from the Jeep and picked up her bike while an elegantly dressed woman approached Hanna and Caleb, apologizing for being late and introducing herself as Rhonda Haynes, the realtor. She extended her hand to greet them before asking them to follow her lead for the house tour. Soon, the group of three disappeared from her view behind the hedges.

Sighing, Annie pushed her bike along a narrow trail leading to the house next door. She dropped it onto the gravel and walked up the four steps to the verandah where a stroller was standing in front of the kitchen window. She leaned over to look at the baby that had been sleeping in there all bundled up in the crisp, fresh winter air and that was stirring as if about to wake up any minute. "Hi Molly," Annie whispered to her. "I'm sorry I can't play with you right now. I got work to do." Then, she sat down on the stoop, folded her arms on her knees and started keeping a watchful eye on her target object.

Hanna stepped into the old Victorian mansion, feeling an instant connection. She had almost burst into a sob a second ago after seeing the hand-crafted nameplate that was still attached to the light-blue shingles on the right-hand side of the door. There were two names on it — Cecile and Harold Ferguson — and the latter had been roughly scratched through with a knife, but it was still distinguishable nonetheless. Caleb didn't seem to have noticed; he was completely enthralled by the interior of the house and by how well-maintained everything seemed despite the fact that it was a rather old building.

Rhonda had stopped by the stairs to turn around and face her clients. "Ok, l feel compelled to tell you the truth," she said as soon as they were all inside the house. "I've been thinking a really long time about putting the house on the market. You see, this place belongs to my mother. She's in a nursing home now that my father passed away and of course she wanted me to take the house and make it my own family's new home. But my home is in Chicago. My husband has a good job there, I have my own real estate agency there, and our kids just don't want to transfer to a new school." She looked into the faces of Hanna and Caleb, appreciating their understanding. "My mother gave all of her belongings to goodwill because that's the kind of person she is. And I know she would want the house in good hands. I've had ten families here before you. They were all either not appropriate enough for my liking or they didn't like the house, expecting something more modern on the inside. You two are actually the last couple I'm showing it to."

"I think it has great style," Caleb stated as he took in the high ceilings and the ornate banister.

Upon entering they had stepped into a small hallway that was leading to the living room. Sunlight was streaming in through large bay windows, glistening on the hardwood floor. Just like Rhonda had explained before, all the furniture in the house had been removed, making the room seem even bigger and the ceiling even higher. The words of the realtor telling the life story of the former residents and some details about the architecture and structure of the house, echoed from the walls in the bright main room.

Together, they strolled through the empty room, imagining filling it with life.

Hanna's face broke into a smile as soon as she caught a glimpse of the fireplace that was built into the wall on the left. The only thing that had been left behind by the old widow who had lived there before was a mirror hanging above the marble mantelpiece. She let her hand slide across the dusty surface, imagining to put her framed wedding picture there plus all kinds of baby pictures that she'd hopefully get to take herself soon.

Rhonda saw Hanna move closer to the mirror, assuming a deeper interest. "I'm sure you're wondering why my mother gave everything away except for this vintage mirror." She didn't wait for Hanna's answer and went on to explain, "You see, my parents lived in this house more than fifty years... fifty happy years... and when my father died last summer, my mother started donating everything to charity because she couldn't bear looking at all the stuff without bursting into a sobbing mess. Her words, not mine."

As Hanna was listening and letting her gaze sweep over the room, she spotted Caleb who was standing in the open space in front of the bay window, bathing in the sunlight. She watched him as he cracked a smile, thinking he had to have been having the exact same idea as her at that moment. _A perfect spot to put the table..._ she thought. Then she turned back around to focus on Rhonda's moving story again.

"She kept the mirror because it was the only thing she couldn't remove saying it would only make her cry even more. There's a small part of the original 19th century wood frame construction behind it that they had kept undecorated from when they first bought the house in 1964."

"Whoa, babe, you've got to come see this," Hanna heard Caleb's excited voice call out to her from the windows and turned away from the fireplace. "There's a pool in the backyard. A pool that is bigger than my old apartment!" She walked over to him in order to see where his excitement was coming from.

Rhonda quickly joined them at the window and told them the specifics of the backyard and the pool. Her own mood about selling her childhood home seemed to be increasing by the minute. The house tour continued and she proceeded to show them the kitchen and its adjoining pantry, an office and a small bathroom that were also situated on the ground floor.

The kitchen cabinets were old and didn't match Hanna's style. For a short moment, she pictured Caleb and Toby refurbishing the room together and goofing around like the little boys that they sometimes still seemed to act like whenever they thought there were alone.

Through the window, she could see the porch, a small front yard with leafless scrubs and empty flowerbeds. The yard was in good shape prompting Hanna to think that Cecile and Harold must have loved sitting outside in the summer just as much as she imagined herself doing that when she first saw the image of the wraparound verandah in the listing.

Upstairs on the second floor, there were four bedrooms, a small bathroom and a larger bathroom. The furnace and all the floors had been modernized only five years previously, prompting Rhonda to emphasize that her parents had always kept the interiors in excellent condition.

All three climbed up another flight of stairs and found themselves in the spacious attic, fully insulated and suffused with sunlight. Hanna slowly crossed the room, measuring up walls and corners in her mind. Caleb saw the delight in her face grow by the minute. So far, this was all going according to plan. "This would be a great studio for you, wouldn't it?"

"Oh my god, yes!" Hanna called out aloud.

"Are you an artist?" Rhonda asked curiously. "My mother used to paint when she was younger."

"No, no. I'm not an artist," Hanna countered.

"Don't believe anything she says, Rhonda," Caleb intervened. "My wife still has a hard time believing that what she creates with her own beautiful mind and hands is just as much of an art as a painting. Come on, tell her, Hanna!"

"I'm a fashion designer," she said, sounding a little more self-confident now.

"Really? Have I seen anything from you in stores?" Rhonda asked.

"Uh, no. I'm not quite there yet," Hanna shook her head violently.

"But you will be one day. I assure you." Caleb came closer and put his arm around her shoulder before turning to face the realtor. "So. Are we through? Have we seen everything?"

"Well, there's still the backyard or I can show you the basement, if you want."

The couple exchanged meaningful looks. "Basement sounds good. Is it soundproof?" Caleb asked, mischief glimmering in his eyes. But Rhonda continued climbing down the stairs without looking back. "Oh, it's not actually a basement, rather a crawl space of sorts," she explained.

"Perfect," Caleb said and grinned at Hanna before they started descending all the way to the ground floor where Rhonda was already waiting for them.

 **XX**

Half an hour later, they had seen everything from top to bottom, front to back, and the realtor was escorting them outside to the porch, struggling to pull some papers from her shoulder bag with her car keys, cell phone and the house key in one hand. "Listen, I'm leaving you some forms for escrow and a copy of the pre-contract in case you might want to look into that with your lawyer, and I suggest you both take a day or two to decide."

"We will. Thank you, Rhonda," Caleb said as he took the papers from her and glanced at them shortly.

"Was this the first showing you've been to?" Rhonda asked while taking the few steps down from the porch.

"Yeah, actually it was," Hanna started, "We've only just started thinking about buying a house."

"Well, then… Really, sleep on it. It's a big decision." She smiled at the couple and extended her hand to say goodbye.

"We know," Caleb said, and they all started walking down the gravel pathway.

On their way back to the car, Hanna stopped dead in her tracks, covering her face, abashed. "Oh, damnit! I lost my gloves somewhere in the house."

The realtor gave Hanna the key, saying, "Would you be okay going back inside all by yourself? I have a few calls to make."

"Sure," Hanna said, playing it cool. "Caleb, would you come inside with me and help me find them? Two eyes see more than one..."

Caleb frowned at her but eventually complied, following her back to the house while the realtor crossed the street to get to her Lexus. When she was out of earshot, he said quietly, "Han, first of all, it's two pairs of eyes see more than one. And secondly, you didn't bring any gloves. I've never ever seen you wear gloves because you keep saying they make your hands itch. What is this all about?"

Hanna kept mum, instead she turned around and winked at him.

"Han? Baby? What did you have in mind? The realtor is outside waiting for us," Caleb turned to look over his shoulder, but all he saw was the woman leaning against her car holding the phone against her ear in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Hanna pulled him inside and closed the door behind him. Caleb looked anxiously about. "I don't think this is quite ethical." She ignored him as she started walking up the stairs. "Don't worry. It'll be fine, Caleb. Trust me."

He rolled his eyes, but followed her upstairs anyways. "I've heard that before."

Upon noticing that he was nervously looking down to the hallway, Hanna smiled at her husband. "Are you worried about what the realtor might hear?" She winked, catching Caleb off guard.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Well... yeah, sort of... I guess."

She giggled as she slipped through one of the open doors and disappeared into an empty bedroom on the second floor. "Then we better make it quick... and quiet."

"Han!" Caleb followed Hanna inside, quickly closing the door behind him.

Hanna positioned herself by the window overlooking the backyard. "l just had to see it one more time without Rhonda breathing down our necks," she said with her back turned to him.

Caleb sighed, tilting his head as he understood that this was the moment which would lead to her making a final decision. This was about all about her and about making a new home with her. She was the one needing to feel completely at ease in a new environment. He would be at ease wherever Hanna wanted to settle down. Heck, he would gladly move into a dark basement again if she was right there by his side, being everything he ever needed to feel at home. He had learned early on that having three German cars parked in the garage didn't automatically make for a nice home. It was always about who you were with. And this house with Hanna in it… this felt like hitting the jackpot in the lottery of life.

"You know, this could be the baby's room..," Hanna said after a while and turned around. "Um, if we ever, I mean, for when we have... babies," she trailed off, insecure.

Caleb smiled gently at Hanna. "l know. It would be a perfect nursery."

She smiled back at him, and they both knew they had made a decision. Hanna turned around to look out the window again. Caleb stepped behind her, putting his arms around her. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sighing, she leaned back into him. "l can't believe we're actually doing this. Buying the first and only house we've ever been shown? That's crazy!"

He bent his head toward her and placed a soft kiss against her neck. "We'll finally have our own place. No rented apartment, no sublet from Lucas. It'll be ours."

"l like the sound of that," Hanna said quietly.

"Hey and I know for sure that we won't be needing surveillance equipment. Little Annie from next door will take care of neighborhood security," He stated before he began to laugh and soon, Hanna chimed in. "Yeah, maybe she has a big sister who could babysit for us so we can still go out on dates."

"Nah, I don't think we'll be needing her big sister. Annie is your go-to person for surveillance of all of our belongings," Caleb chortled. "Did you see the little walkie-talkie she had clipped onto her ski overall? I mean what does she need the ski overall for? It's not even snowing! I wouldn't be surprised if she had a mic underneath it or a guide on how to establish a neighborhood watch."

"Yeah, or the headlight that stuck out under her beanie hat?" They both burst into loud laughter.

"But that's all in our future," Caleb turned serious again. "Right now you could actually start focusing on setting up a studio in that insanely spacious attic above. Isn't that just like you imagined it? I saw the dreamy expression you got right after setting foot in there."

"It's not New York, but it's pretty close to perfect. Hey, how does 'Rivers of Blue Bell' sound to you for my clothing line?"

"When it comes to you, anything Rivers sounds damn right to me." He murmured his words against her soft skin, his warm breath tickling her earlobe.

Smiling, Hanna lifted her hand to his face and ran a finger down his jawline before connecting their lips for a brief moment. Then, she walked past him into the empty living room. Her touch served as a lead for Caleb, who followed her almost as if he were on a leash.

Hanna looked around the room and took a breath, imagining how the room would look, lived in. Caleb seemed to have the same thought.

"We can put the sofa over there," he pointed, his voice echoing in the hollowness.

"Ah," Hanna smiled, taking his hand and pulling him with her where he had pointed. "So, we can sit here, and look out across there..." she started positioning him as if there really were furniture, "and I can come down the stairs over there..." Now she pushed Caleb down as if he was actually sitting, "and I can walk up behind you and kiss you like this..."

"Actually," he said, and laid down on the floor. "I'd likely be laying on the sofa."

"Okay, fair enough," Hanna said as she squatted down next to him. "You know… I watched you before… when you were talking to Annie outside while I was talking to Ted on the phone."

"Is that so? Caleb folded his arms behind his head and looked up at the fake stucco on the ceiling.

"Oh, yeah!" She smiled at him until he finally returned the look, and for a second she thought that he was blushing a little. "You were so cute with her, the way you got down on your knee to be eye-to-eye with her. Or the way you asked her to watch our car…"

"Yeah, I never liked it when adults were talking down to me when I was a little kid," he said in a serious manner.

Hanna's smile disappeared and she nodded her head, understanding. "So, what are we going to tell Rhonda when we give the key back to her?" she asked after a while.

"About the gloves that we weren't able to find anywhere in here?" Caleb gave a short chuckle.

"No, about the house," she quickly countered.

Caleb scrambled to get up and sat next to her. "We're not going to say anything today. We'll sleep on it, just like she suggested and which is a smart thing to do, and then we'll give her a call first thing in the morning if we still feel that this is right." Caleb pulled her close to his side and brushed a kiss against her forehead. "Though I do feel tempted to tell her right now that we're like eighty percent sure that we want this house so she won't let any other families see this place."

"More like eighty-eight," Hanna said jokingly and laid her head down on his shoulder. Her gaze traveled through the room, landing on the mirror above the fireplace. "Wait a sec." She got up and crossed the room.

"What?" Caleb looked after her, wondering what she was up to again.

Her hands touched down on the edge of the looking glass, checking the sturdiness of the mounting on a whim. Just as she had hoped, the mirror followed her movements, revealing what was behind it. A smile started playing at her lips.

"You know… make that ninety-five percent," she said and peeked over her shoulder where she saw Caleb's questioning look. Then, very carefully, Hanna removed the mirror from the wall with both hands and set it down on the floor before stepping back to allow Caleb to see what she had discovered.

Carved into the raw surface of an exposed piece of the wood frame construction, there was an old-fashioned shape of a heart with two letters in it: C + H.

 _to be continued…_

* * *

 **Thanks Katey for touching up my grammar. Thanks to everyone who still reads my stories. I feel really blessed. Let me know what you would like to read in future chapters or where you think the story should end. XOXO, Zip!**


	8. Chapter 8

**XXXXX**

 **Chapter 8**

 **XXXXX**

Late in the evening, Hanna and Caleb were cuddled up on the sofa watching a movie together, waiting for a call from Spencer. They had emailed her the pre-contract and escrow papers so she could forward them to her mother – former lawyer and State Senator Mrs. Veronica Hastings – for a quick check.

Ever since Hanna saw Cecile and Harold's initials– which also happened to be hers and Caleb's initials – in the wooden beam hidden underneath the mirror she had taken it as a sign that the house was meant to become theirs.

When the closing credits rolled across the screen, there still hadn't been a return call from their friend, so the married couple got ready for bed.

Right after they had crawled under the covers and their kiss goodnight had turned into a more heated encounter, Spencer finally called, and Hanna answered the phone before putting her on speaker.

"Hey Spence!"

"Hey!" Caleb called out in the background.

"Yeah, hi! Did I wake you?"

"No, no. Absolutely not," Hanna fended.

"Sorry for calling you this late, but my mom didn't get back to me until just now and I thought you really wanted to hear this as soon as possible."

"Why? Is there anything wrong with the contract?" Hanna assumed.

"No, just the opposite," Spencer explained. "There's just a few things that need to be adjusted, nothing major, just the wording that wasn't precise enough."

"Okay," Caleb said, vague.

"So, what you can do once you decided that you're really buying is you make an appointment with my mom, the realtor and the owner of the house to resolve that. Or you can pick your own lawyer to do that for you if you feel like it would be inappropriate for me to know the details of your house purchase because I usually take part in those kind of meetings, too, taken I'm the paralegal, you know," Spencer drew a deep breath upon ending her lengthy monologue.

"Why would we think it's inappropriate?" Hanna wondered.

"I don't know. Maybe because of our history together?" their friend suggested.

Hanna and Caleb looked at each other, baffled.

"It's totally fine, Spencer. We'll let you know once we talked to our realtor. It would be great if you could set us up for a meeting. But it will only be Mrs. Haynes and us. She has a… has a… what's it called, babe?" Hanna asked, lost.

"She has a warrant. The house owner is her own mother and she's in a nursing home," Caleb intervened.

"Fine, I'll set it up and text you… I'll text you…" Spencer started stammering, and very quietly, Toby's voice could be heard whispering words into her ear that seemed to distract her, keeping her from getting the words out right. "Toby, stop it!" she whispered, admonishing the culprit as she struggled to regain a professional demeanor. "I'll text you the time and the date and what you need to do in advance for the escrow agreement," she spoke in her usual business voice again.

"Okay. That sounds great. Thanks, Spencer!" Caleb said quickly, adding, "We really appreciate it you're doing this for us."

"You just wait for my mother's service fee invoice," she countered, a small smile playing on her lips. "Goodnight, you two!"

"Goodnight to you, too! Say hi to Toby for us," Hanna laughed into the phone and hung up. She put her phone down on the night table and returned to Caleb's side. "Now. Where were we?"

He put his arms around her and resumed kissing her neck and stroking the soft skin of her cleavage, making her feel more and more powerless in his embrace.

Hanna let herself sink into the pillows, pulling him along with her. At that moment, her phone started beeping, prompting Caleb to groan, unnerved. "No, keep going. That's probably just my CLUE app," she instructed.

"Your CLUE app? What does it do? Warn you every time a man comes closer to you?" Caleb joked, his words punctuated by his attempt to juggle speaking and tracing her collarbone with his tongue at the same time.

"No. It's my daily pill reminder," Hanna huffed, her breaths coming in shorter and more quickly in succession as the passion was building. "It'll stop soon."

She hadn't quite finished talking when the beeping stopped indeed. The room was silent again except for the smacking of Caleb's lips touching down on that sensitive spot right behind her ear.

"I'm going to delete it first thing in the morning," she breathed elaborately.

"Sh, stop talking," Caleb murmured right before his lips finally connected with hers. Hanna surrendered to his touch, feeling on top of the world… like things couldn't get any better if she tried.

 **XX**

In the morning, Hanna opened her eyes to find it was as bright as day in the bedroom. Caleb was still laying next to her. His hair was messy, one arm was dangling down the side of the bed and his legs were completely entangled in the sheets. He was looking like he'd had a very agitated dream at night.

Hanna's gaze fell on the papers sitting on her night table. The simple thought about the consequences once she and Caleb would sign them, conjured up a huge smile on her face.

They were buying a house! A real four-bedroom house with a backyard and a pool bigger than Caleb's old apartment, a hot tub on the porch and lots of kids in the neighborhood... Not to mention a perfect opportunity to set up a fashion studio in the attic.

So far, they had only told one person about their planned purchase, and Hanna was looking forward to sharing the news with everybody. She was certain that her mom would be thrilled to find out that her daughter would not be going back to New York. She knew her mom and she also knew that her mom had never warmed up to the idea of Hanna and Caleb living in an anonymous environment as big as New York City. She had never said a negative word about it, knowing Hanna was living her dream in the Big Apple, but deep down Ashley Marin loved having her daughter back in Rosewood again.

Enjoying the idea of getting a lazy start into the day, Hanna stretched out under the covers, careful not to wake her husband, and grabbed her phone in order to text her mom that she had some good news to share and wanted to meet her for lunch that day. Upon unlocking her screen, she saw the notification from her CLUE app that had come on the previous evening.

Only it wasn't what she had expected to see. Instead of her daily reminder to take the pill, the app had notified her that her period had been due yesterday.

Meaning it was overdue today.

But there was no period. Why hadn't her period started yesterday? She was usually on time, her body functioning like a clockwork. Hanna had trouble getting her act together.

She jerked into an upright position. Caleb, who was lying on his stomach didn't show any sign of waking. Hanna slid off of the mattress and quickly disappeared into the bathroom.

Minutes later, she returned to the bedroom, looking as confused as before. She took the phone back into her hands, but could only stare at it with disbelief. Several thoughts came to her mind, and slowly, things were starting to fall into place.

Her sudden aversion to coffee... the constant tiredness... her weeping at the sight of the new toilet paper commercial with a toddler on TV... Could this be true? Could she be…? They had only just started to try...

Her mind was trying to do the math despite the fact that she hadn't even had a coffee to really wake her spirits. But before she could get a hold of the situation, Caleb's phone rang, cutting through the silence of the morning and putting a stop to her racing thoughts.

Dumbfounded, Hanna watched him jump off of their bed and answer the call. He muttered occasionally while getting dressed within record speed before eventually ending his conversation saying, "You stay put, OK? Do you hear me? I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Hanna held out the car keys to him, the situation seeming all too familiar. "I guess that means no breakfast in bed together for us today too, huh?"

"Not today, baby. That was Garner," Caleb started explaining. "His girlfriend broke up with him last night and he had nothing better to do than spend the night at our lab with a bottle of whiskey, and now he called me telling me he'd locked himself out and asking if I knew where he'd parked his car last night. I have to go take him home before he does something stupid."

Hanna closed her eyes and shook her head. This was so Garner. She had never met him before, but from what Caleb had told her about him, this wasn't the first time the guy needed Caleb's help in an exceptional situation. "Again?"

"I admit he's a little extra, but he's also the most brilliant software engineer I ever met," Caleb gave her a quick peck on the lips and then proceeded to walk into the living-room. Hanna followed suit, not liking the idea of having to let him leave while she was in the middle of sorting out a change in their lives that would be even bigger than a house, although figuratively speaking only.

Upon seeing her pouty face, Caleb stepped back from the apartment door and walked over to her. "I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to take a raincheck for our breakfast date this morning." He kissed her again. "I promise I'll be back in time for lunch so we can call Rhonda together and tell her we're buying the house."

"You're being such a good friend," Hanna acknowledged.

"I'm used to helping the people around me out of sticky situations," he smiled at her. "I can't help it."

"And I love you for that," Hanna said before connecting their mouths again for a goodbye kiss. "Bye."

When he was out the door and the apartment was quiet again, Hanna sunk into the couch cushions and started typing out the message to her mother which she had meant to send earlier.

 _Hey mom. Are you free for dinner? We've got some great news to share. XOXO_

Within seconds, her mother's response showed up on the screen.

But instead of a text message, her mom had sent her something else. A fleeting smile played on her lips at the realization that her mother was working on her social media skills.

There it was on the screen, followed by a series of question marks: a baby emoji.

Thoughts were running through Hanna's mind. Excitement. Anxiousness. Hope… All at the same time.

She settled deeper into the couch, and sat dead still for long moments while staring at the display of her phone. "Yeah, I'm asking myself that very same question, mom," she eventually said to herself before she typed a short reply, putting her mom off until dinner. What else could she have said? She didn't even know for real herself.

She needed clarification. Confirmation, at best.

The next instant, Hanna was up on her feet, scrambling to find her car keys and her purse. She was almost out in the hallway when she finally noticed that she was barefoot and still wearing her pajamas. She turned on her heel and quickly slipped into a pair of leather boots that was standing right by the door. Then she spotted Caleb's raincoat lying on the backrest of their couch, hung it over her shoulder and left the apartment.

 **XX**

Half an hour later, a bulky plastic bag from CVS, a set of keys and an iPhone were carelessly dropped on the kitchen island in a hurry. The display of the phone had been flashing on and off in the past minutes with a dozen messages coming in from people who had seen Hanna Rivers, normally very fashion forward, run errands while dressed in Minions pajama bottoms and an oversized men's raincoat on a sunny winter morning in Rosewood, asking if she was starting some form of a new trend.

Hanna moaned at the sight of herself in the mirror, but then she turned her phone over deciding to ignore the rest of the world for now.

The loft was still quiet and deserted but soon the rustling noise of Hanna attempting to empty out the bag with trembling hands filled the air.

One after another, she arranged the items on the countertop, sorting them by their size. When she was done, she sat down on a barstool, staring at all the different brands of pregnancy tests that their local drugstore carried, and took a deep breath. After letting her still shaky fingers run over the different boxes, she finally decided on a bright pink one that said 'early result pregnancy test' on it.

Shuffling through the living room, Hanna got rid of the heavy boots and the coat before squatting down on the closed lid of the toilet in their main bathroom. She unpacked the box and started reading the instructions.

Hanna looked at the inconspicuous white plastic stick that was holding the power to change her life forever. Was she really ready to do this? She did recall telling Caleb that she was ready to start trying for kids, but what if there was no more time left to actually _try_? What if _this_ was already it? Would Caleb be happy about having a baby _that_ soon? Like… by the end of that very same year?

When she told him she wanted to have a baby she never thought she would be sitting on her toilet seat with a pregnancy test in her hand just a mere three days later, facing the possibility that maybe there was a baby inside of her already.

"OK, let's do this," she muttered before proceeding to follow the instructions.

Afterwards, she put the cap back on the stick and laid it out ready on the vanity. While she was swiping through the apps on her phone to find the timer, her gaze went back and forth between the two displays. Having found the right app to start the countdown, another look at the plastic stick almost caused her to drop the phone down onto the tiles.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Hanna's eyes flew wide open. "Is this thing broken? Wasn't I supposed to wait three minutes? I haven't even set the timer yet," she whined, completely forgetting the fact that there was no-one around to respond… and the fact that the test had just given her the exact result she had been secretly praying for.

Two lines.

Positive.

Pregnant!

"I'm pregnant," she said before her hands covered her mouth as if afraid to spill the beans to an unwanted eavesdropper. Nonetheless, the corners of her mouth twitched, and before long, a broad smile started spreading on her face. "I can't believe this," she whispered to herself, voicing her bewilderment about how the positive result was even possible when she had been continuously on the pill in the last couple of years.

In a blur, she was back in the kitchen scooping up the rest of the tests on the countertop with her arms before dropping them into the sink in the bathroom. One by one, she unpacked all the test sticks.

"Shoot", she exclaimed upon noticing that she wasn't able to repeat the procedure with the next test just like that. Again, she hurried back to the kitchen and took a can of soda from the fridge. Back in the bathroom, she took large swigs, attempting to dash down the entire can of soda so that she could finally go pee again before Caleb got back home. All of a sudden, she felt like being on a secret mission that needed to be accomplished by just the two of them: her and the tiny needlepoint in her womb that was Baby Rivers.

In between gulps, Hanna checked her phone once again. Among the messages she had received earlier, there was one from Caleb telling her he would have to stay at work longer and wouldn't be able to make it back home until dinner because they had uncovered a major glitch in their encryption algorithm – whatever that meant. She put the phone down on the vanity. Another message from Caleb appeared on the screen, asking her to tell Rhonda that they were calling dibs on the house.

Undecided between the joy of the moment and disappointment because Caleb wouldn't be home for another eight hours, Hanna sat down on the edge of the bathtub, the soda can still in her hand. She didn't want to tell him the big news on the phone. She wanted to see his face the very moment that she told him… wanted to see it light up with joy, just like hers had upon getting the positive result. In her mind, she could already see him react surprised before he'd hopefully swoop her up with elation.

Still, how was she supposed to tell him? An event like that called for something special. And she had eight hours to come up with an idea.

But first she needed more proof that this wasn't a dream and that the one test she had taken hadn't been malfunctioning. She took a few deep breaths just to alleviate her inner tension before she gulped down the remainder of the beverage. When the can was empty at last, she felt like giving the process a new try.

In the end, there were eight used pregnancy tests laid out on the vanity, seven of them showing the exact same result as the first, and one had turned out to be malfunctioning, showing nothing at all.

Hanna tossed the void one in the trash, then grabbed the seven positive sticks and went back to the bedroom.

"Okay. Okay. Okay," she said, repeating the word over and over again as she started pacing the room while trying to fan herself with her handful of test sticks. She rounded the bed once, twice before she could think of anything else to say. "So, that's good. I guess. Phew." Her fanning movements became faster as she broke into a sweat from processing this new information. Time and again, she sighed with relief or giggled to herself as all kinds of emotions were playing out inside of her.

Eventually, she laid out the tests on the bed before taking the one marked "pregnant 4-6 weeks" into her hand again when an idea came to her.

She got her phone from next-door and navigated through her calendar, checking the past six weeks for possible dates of conception. Her head was still spinning, and suddenly all her knowledge about human reproduction seemed to have gone out the window.

But in her hands, she was holding the source of every information one could ask for. Hanna opened the app store, and it wasn't long before she found what she had been looking for. She quickly downloaded and installed the first pregnancy tracking app she could find. Starting the app, she stumbled upon the first obstacle: It was asking for the date of her last period.

Hanna sat down on the bed and thought hard for a moment. There had been their wedding, of course, their second wedding and their honeymoon and not to mention — the uncovering of A.D.! In between all those events it was hard to remember what had been going on because everything had gone by in a blur. And her powers of recollection on this whirlwind morning weren't helping.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she closed her eyes and tried to focus. When part of her brain finally resumed its work, she opened the CLUE app and immediately figured out the date in question and fed it into the tracker. Along with the duration of her cycle, the app eventually calculated a possible conception date: February 11!

Their honeymoon. Aruba.

Tiny smithereens of her memory were slowly coming back to her... There had been that horrible flight from Philadelphia to Aruba which she had spent enduring not only the seemingly endless crying of a baby two rows behind her, but cramps and a migraine, too. Caleb had tried his best distracting her from her misery, but she hadn't stopped yammering until she had set foot on the serene island in the southern Caribbean Sea five hours later.

Then, there had been that awful food poisoning after they had been out for a quick lunch at Henk's Crab Shack. Hanna distinctly remembered that Caleb hadn't gotten sick and had written several anonymous Yelp reviews basting the place on her behalf.

And then there had been that Sunday on the beach...

 _to be continued..._

* * *

 **Thank you for all your kind words, here and on twitter. They really mean so much to me! Hope you enjoyed this chapter... XO, Zip _  
_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Just a filler chapter... Some of you may know this chapter as I've posted it before as part of the epilogue for "Pinch me, I must be dreaming". I changed the ending a bit though.**

 **I decided to include it here as well because it's what sparked the whole idea for this story.**

* * *

 **XX**

 _ **February 11, 2018 ~ a beach somewhere in the south of Aruba**_

 _Hanna and Caleb were sitting together on a sun lounger, one behind the other, relaxing and watching the people around them._

" _Come on, Hanna. Mr. Muscles. I was watching him." Caleb scoffed at Hanna after another attractive dude had walked past them. In Caleb's mind he had walked by undressing Hanna with his eyes – something he wasn't going to sweep under the mat just like that._

" _What about him?" Hanna said, somewhat defensively._

" _He was hitting on you," he explained, but not without a slightly amused undertone in his voice._

" _Was not," she said, but she sounded a touch guilty. Caleb smiled and settled his chin familiarly into the dip of her shoulder, where it fitted comfortably enough to have had him wondering in the past if it had been tailor made for this purpose._

" _Was too. Don't pretend you didn't notice. I mean," he added as she shifted uncomfortably, "look at it from my point of view." He traced a path of small caresses along the side of her throat and then breathed huskily in her ear, "Here I am with my incredibly sexy wife…" She smiled slightly. "You've had the eyes of every guy within a mile radius on you since you stepped into that pool wearing this on our very first day here."_

 _His eyes traveled over her body, adoring once more her turquoise bikini that hugged her breasts and hips like a second skin. He tugged at its spaghetti strap briefly in emphasis._

" _That's not true," Hanna said, but she suddenly looked very pleased with herself._

" _I've been the envy of every single one of them," Caleb concluded with a dramatic, soulful sigh as he returned his chin to its perch._

 _Hanna sniffed but it sounded rather half-hearted. Caleb smiled as he set his lips to the satin skin of her shoulder, inhaling her 'vacation scent', the mixture of sunscreen and Mojito breath. She chuckled._

 _Caleb came out of his reverie with a frown. "What's so funny?"_

" _You. The thought of you being all protective and jealous while at the same time secretly enjoying the whole scenario."_

" _I am not!"_

" _Are too."_

" _Am not!" He insisted indignantly and Hanna turned her head to glare at him. They smiled at each other before his arms tightened, holding her steady against his solid chest, unawares emphasizing her point._

 _Feeling too hot to raise the energy needed to keep up her teasing act, Hanna decided to content herself with not having had the last word for once._

 _Caleb, having made his point, only smiled lazily._

" _Aren't you supposed to be doing something with that lotion?" Hanna demanded testily._

" _I can think of lots of things to do with this lotion," he answered, planting a rough kiss at the base of her right ear and moving his head to set another one beneath the left._

" _Caleb…!"_

 _He grinned at the exasperation in her voice and faked a put upon sigh. "Okay," he conceded. "It's a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it."_

 _He reached for the bottle of sunscreen and straightened behind her. Loading up with the creamy lotion, he set the bottle aside and took hold of her shoulders, flexing his fingers strongly against her skin._

 _After a moment, Hanna took the bottle and emptied a little dab of lotion into her hands. She began to apply it to her upper chest area with soft strokes of her fingertips._

 _The hands at her shoulders stopped their ministrations. Hanna sighed and tipped her head back onto the shoulder behind her, a move which arched her back and thrust her breasts pertly upwards, giving her husband a long and lengthy view to where her fingers were dipping lower to apply lotion to the swell of flesh just above the line of turquoise cotton._

" _Hey," Caleb protested, somewhat hoarsely, as he reached for the offending hand and tugged it clear. "Stop spoiling the perks of this job."_

 _She grinned as he took over the task and settled back with a small sigh of contentment. She closed her eyes, savoring the light strokes of his fingers against her skin as he massaged the lotion into the tops of her breasts, applying himself to the chore diligently._

 _The heat of the sun overhead and the soothing, caressing circles being traced on her skin let her drift. Her thoughts began to wistfully consider how those stroking fingers would feel against her skin if they moved just a little lower when she came to with a start, confused as she felt Caleb's hands slide between the cotton lining of her top and her skin to lightly cradle her breasts. He squeezed gently as his breath flooded warmth against her neck. He kissed her jaw softly and dipped his head lower to stroke the sensitive skin in the hollow of her shoulder._

 _Her muzziness swiftly leaving her, Hanna squirmed slightly and raised her head to scan the area around them. She must have been asleep at least a time because the sun had shifted subtly overhead and the beach was deserted. A cooling breeze had begun to flutter in the sunshades along the waterfront._

" _Caleb?" Came her concerned voice as she realized what he was doing._

" _Hmmmmm?" Caleb hummed, kind of absentmindedly._

" _Baby?"_

" _It's okay," he murmured into her ear, accurately sensing the cause of her concern. "We're on our own. They called dinner ten minutes ago. Everyone else went inside." His hands continued to knead her breasts fitted into his palms and his thumbs skimmed across her nipples, bringing them into sudden, taut life._

 _Hanna leaned back again and allowed herself to relax against his chest._

" _And I guess you want to get inside, too," she murmured wickedly._

" _Oh yeah," Caleb agreed, tightening his grip and then removing his hands. He ignored her soft protest as he let them smooth a path across her shoulders, drawing the thin straps of the bikini with them until they dangled loose against her upper arms. He used the grip on her arms to turn her around to face him. He was straddling the lounger now. He positioned her between his legs, his knees pressing firmly against her thighs as she settled back on her heels._

 _Hanna reached out to ease the sunglasses from his face, discarding them on the small table between the loungers and then directed a sultry smile up into the warm hazel eyes gazing down at her. She watched interestedly as he bent his head to press his lips to her cleavage. He let them trail downwards with tantalizing slowness, bathing her oily skin with feathered caresses until he reached cotton. He nudged the edge of her top downwards with his chin and followed it with his mouth._

 _Her eyes dilated, her breath rising in her throat as watching him pleasure both himself and her in his lazy exploration began to settle a heavy, liquid warmth deep in her belly. "You know…" she observed, slightly huskily, "I've noticed…" she paused, breath catching hard as his teeth closed over one taut nipple and squeezed delicately and her words deserting her. She moaned quietly, closing her eyes as her hands lifted to his shoulders and began to play across the bunching muscles._

 _Caleb's soft, enticing tugging at the center of her breast paused finally and he released her, letting the tip of his tongue dart out to play briefly against her reddened skin before he murmured absently, "You noticed…?"_

" _Mmmmhh. What?"_

 _Hanna roused herself with a frown, opening her eyes to look down at him, and lifted one hand from his shoulder to place it on the back of his head, firmly pressing it back down against the breast he'd just abandoned._

" _You noticed," he prompted again as he obeyed that silent command and went back to teasing at her nipple with short, vigorous little nips of his teeth._

" _Huh… oh… yes, yes, I noticed… aaaah..." She shuddered, her eyes opening momentarily wide and then dropped her head, losing her train of thought again as she followed his movements against her breast with fascination and some awe. What had she been saying? Oh yes, "Yes, I noticed that there seem to be… there… there… certain… certain areas you cover more than most. In this lotioning thing," she added after a breathy pause._

 _She felt him smile against her skin, even as she saw the tips of his mouth crinkle upwards around the dark bud he was nuzzling. "Well, your husband likes to be thorough." The tip of his tongue proved his point by dipping out suddenly to flick across the hard, aching tip of her breast and Hanna jerked slightly, closing her eyes again as her head fell back, her lips parting and her breath reduced to quick, shallow gasps._

 _Caleb rose up onto his knees to place a kiss in the center of her throat and then fastened his mouth on hers in a vigorous melding of their lips. His tongue pushed into the hot, moist cavity of her mouth, dipping into all the hollows and ridges that he already knew so well. He felt her sigh fill his own mouth warmly as her tongue tangled with his and conducted its own, eager exploration. His hands played with her breasts, his fingers enclosing her nipples, rolling and pinching and then soothing them with soft fluttering touches as he responded to her quick, muted cries of pleasure and encouragement._

 _Then he tore his mouth from hers. Hanna followed his movement in a blind quest to recover his lips before she realized that he had drawn away from her. She opened her eyes, blinking hazily and then focused on him with a frown. A frown that cleared as she caught on to why he had stopped his ministrations on her._

 _He glanced at her and motioned his head toward the palm-shrouded entrance of the hotel complex._

 _An elderly couple emerged, arm in arm and engaged in animated conversation. Hanna couldn't resist a downward glance at herself and was relieved to note that everything was in place and as it should be._

 _There were only a few yards separating them from the couple now as they began to walk towards them before turning onto the winding path that would take them down into the nearby village. The elderly man put a hand against his wife's elbow, steering her to the path edge and away from its slightly uneven center. Hanna smiled at his attentiveness._

 _Her own, adoring other half turned her gently into the encircling support of his arm and engaged her lips with his own in a caress that was passionate, but more sedate than the one they had been sharing a moment earlier._

" _Maybe we could find us a spot a little less in plain view," he murmured huskily when their lips parted, shifting slightly to brush his light stubble against her cheek. "Let's check the dunes over there." He pointed to a stretch of land further south on the beach_.

" _Oh." Hanna breathed back at him from her position laid back against his arm, suddenly aroused by the idea they were about to break the law._

 _The very air between them seemed suddenly charged, like the taste of ozone before a summer storm, and, looking up tentatively into Caleb's eyes, she saw that he was aware of that sea change too._

 _He shifted, imperceptibly, a move that brought them into contact in a hundred different places and Hanna, aware of every one, stifled a low moan as she felt that connection sear her._

 _At that moment, she couldn't have cared less if the entire New York Knicks basketball team had come spilling out of the hotel, knowing she would surrender to him in a heartbeat, no matter where or how he chose to take her._

 _A slow smile began to form on Caleb's face as though he was well aware of her thoughts. It dizzied her, seeing that stark, almost feral reflection of her own lust and desire transfigured in his eyes._

 _He got up from his lounger, gently pulling her up, too. They grabbed their towels and started strolling through the sand, both keeping an eye out to find a more secluded spot between rocks and dunes separating the even stretch of fine white sandy beach from the boondocks._

 _They didn't have to walk far as they soon reached a wooden, weather-worn sign on a pole, prohibiting trespassing of a natural reserve for waterbirds during hatching season. Protected from view behind an assemblage of boulders, Hanna and Caleb unfurled their towels in the soft sand before plunking themselves down on them. Wasting no time, they stretched out and Caleb propped himself up on his elbow to let his hands take the tactually scenic tour of her body._

 _His fingers reached her hip and he let them play idly against her bikini panties. One finger followed the line where cotton and smooth skin met before he pushed it down and under to caress her hip bone and the beginnings of her rounded butt._

 _Hanna squirmed slightly and placed her hands on his tan, well-defined chest, drawing the warmth from his skin into her fingers as she slid them in light circles across his muscles. "That tickles." She suddenly shrieked when Caleb had obviously reached a more sensitive spot on her skin._

 _He smiled but didn't stop, though he did shift direction slightly, which made her squirm more. And not specifically because it tickled, Caleb thought with a grin._

" _We are so going to get busted." Hanna gasped out, desperately trying to keep her mind from the slow, meandering path his finger was taking as it stroked seductively back and forth, up and down the crease of her thigh. Now and then it would brush lightly against the edge of her folds, just out of its reach and she would still, holding her breath, until it continued its stroking route._

" _Hmmmm?" Caleb had been watching the movements of his fingers beneath the cotton and had only half listened to what she had said. Now he looked up and Hanna caught her breath again at the look of smoldering desire filling his warm brown eyes. "We're gonna get caught," she told him._

" _No, we're not. Not if we make it quick." He grinned at her mischievously._

 _Hanna barely heard the words as his fingers traveled southwards._

 _Suddenly, Caleb raised his other hand to cup her cheek as he watched that heat flare in her eyes. "You're easily the most beautiful woman on this island," he murmured, rubbing a slow, seductive thumb across her lips and continuing to graze the tips of his fingers over her folds._

" _Oh, I don't know," Hanna laughed somewhat shakily. She swallowed roughly through the sudden constriction in her throat and the inexplicable rise of tears in her eyes. She blinked them back savagely. "Well, there's that topless beach on the east side." She suggested vaguely._

 _Caleb let a flicker of a smile lighten the fierce need clenched in his face as he argued. "Some women don't have to advertise." His mouth finally did what her eyes had been begging it to and closed passionately over her own._

 _Hanna felt herself drowning, dissolving into a backwash of sensation and heat and desire as his tongue wound itself into her mouth, gently at first but then with fervor._

 _She let her own hands reach for his trunks, feeling for the prominent bulge she knew had to be there already, sensing his state of need by the way he pressed his upper body down against hers. Caleb inched closer, making her efforts to feel for his arousal seem futile as she could feel him now, right there grinding himself against her thigh._

 _His hand rose to cup her breast, pushing the turquoise barrier aside. Her body molded itself to his exploring hands, to his slightest touch, wherever he made the sensual contact._

 _Caleb's lips were traveling again, following the drumming beat of her heart up along the tendons of her throat and for a split second, thoughts of privacy began to brighten in her head before conscious thought eventually left her._

" _C-Caleb…" she gasped and he shifted, lips trailing heat across her brow and cheek, against her temple as he moved to lie on top of her, trapping her beneath his body. Still supporting his weight on his elbows, he brought up his hands to frame her face tight as he planted a line of those hot, open-mouthed kisses on her forehead and the tip of her nose._

 _The glow in her eyes seared him. "You know if you'd rather leave and go to our room...," he said, the words emerging from deep in his chest, thick with passion and barely more than a breathless growl._

" _I want to sleep with you, here and now." Came her husky response as she moved her arms around his waist, fumbling to remove his swim trunks._

 _He tugged her towards his lips, kissed her quickly, fiercely, as though he couldn't long stay away from their glistening lure and then raised his head again, "You sure?"_

 _She nodded her head faintly against the hands holding her firm, but Caleb seemed either disinterested in her response or to have forgotten the question because he was kissing her again and his hands slipped down to her throat, and then to her shoulders. Entwined, they rolled onto their sides, and Caleb's free arm eased its way quickly along her shoulder blades and down her spine until his exploring hand splayed itself against her bottom._

 _Using it as leverage, he pushed her upward as he rolled them over until Hanna lay atop of him. He effortlessly managed to open the clasp of her bikini top with one hand while pushing her head down against his with the other. He let go of her hair so that Hanna could push herself up which allowed for her bikini to fall from her shoulders._

 _Caleb instantly raised his head to close his mouth over her puckering nipples._

 _Hanna cried piteously into his mouth, her hips circling frantically against his touch as he clenched his fingers gently around her butt cheeks beneath the fabric of her panties._

 _Next, Caleb gently rolled them over again until Hanna came lying flat on her back again. If they were about to have sex in public, he wanted to make sure that should they get busted, it would be because of his naked body moving on prohibited ground in plain view, not hers._

 _Before long, he shifted to straddle her, allowing himself a short moment to take in the beauty of her nude torso._

 _Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself yet again that the woman beneath him was now his to look at for the rest of his life… The only woman he could ever imagine growing old with._

 _He placed his hands on her chest, the way she had done it a million times before when she was in control. He felt her stiff peaks rub against his palms… felt her heart beating fast against her ribcage… he saw her glazed eyes looking up at him full of anticipation… saw her slightly parted lips. And by the way her breathing came labored and at increasing speed, he knew she was ready._

 _Hanna had the dim impression of time moving, of air stirring in the grasses and shrubs around them, of voices, muted by distance and barely heard and Caleb's lips on her skin as her world narrowed until there was nothing but the sound of her own heart thundering in her ears and above it the steady, storming beat of his._

 _And then Caleb grunted sharply as he lowered his body closer to her. He planted his hands on the towel, on either side of her shoulders. Supporting himself on his arms, he eased himself slightly clear of her, breathing laboredly, chest heaving as he stared down into her face._

 _She remained still for a moment, eyes closed, chin tilted upward, lips softly parted, glistening slickly in the faint light of the sunset. With a hand that trembled slightly, Caleb grazed his thumb across their swollen surface. Her eyelids fluttered open again to check why he was hesitating._

" _Hanna…" he said softly, his dark eyes shining down on her full of love._

 _She wrapped her arms around his neck delightedly as she felt his weight trap her, pushing her down deep into the malleable surface. She drew his face down to where she could dart quick, passionate kisses across its handsome features._

 _Her hands raked downward across his spine, skimmed across the hollow of his back, feeling the muscles bunch and flex strongly beneath her fingers until she found her way to the line of his cotton trunks. She pushed the swimwear down off of his taut buttocks and onto his thighs._

 _Caleb rolled from her and onto his side, panting harshly as he stripped off the restricting piece of clothing with a few swift movements. The pulsing length of his erection sprang free, and Hanna immediately reached for it to pump up and down._

 _Their mouths clasped and unclasped as they traded quick, restless breaths._

 _Caleb groaned as his hips rose, without conscious thought, pushing his length hard against the damp patch of cotton between her legs, rubbing and stroking against her heated core as they rocked in a slow, erotic dance, their rhythm picked up and driven by the drumming, overlapping beat of their hearts._

 _Hanna closed her eyes, moaning softly, and opened them as she felt his hand dip below the fabric of her panties, shoving it aside before he placed the tip of his penis at her entrance, waiting for a sign from her that she was really ready to do this. A single word, a single gesture of disapproval and he would have stopped and hastily grabbed her by the hand to run back to their hotel room at a record speed._

 _When all she did was moan and whimper at the feeling of his erection rubbing against her most sensitive area, Caleb entered her in one swift movement._

 _She was spreading herself wide as his fingers gripped her thighs and pushed them apart. He raised himself slightly, looming over her, blocking out the remaining orange light of the sun that flared at the horizon and then he was sheathing himself deep inside her, filling her almost to the hilt._

 _She was hot and welcoming. She arched her back deeply, her thighs gripping his in a tight pinch as he slid deeper inside of her._

 _A sharp, mewling rose from Hanna's throat as he kept thrusting in and pulling out of her, expertly and knowingly changing angle and pace as to hit just the right spots to drive her crazy, yet doing it so rapidly that she was kept on the rising cusp of her desire, never allowed to struggle over its edge until her gasps for breath came frantic._

 _She shuddered and wriggled, forcing herself against him, clutching him deeper within as she wrapped her long legs around his waist. Caleb began a hard, strong rhythm, thrusting and withdrawing, burying himself in her as all conscious thought left him._

 _Hanna cried out sharply, her hands moving restlessly against his shoulders as her hips bucked upwards to meet the vigorous strokes that slammed her back, over and over, into the soft sand beneath her._

 _The sensuous, circling movements of her hips spurred Caleb on, his thrusts becoming rougher as he instinctively sensed her frustration and need, her desire for something more than a gentle pleasuring of her body._

 _Caleb felt a familiar tingling at the base of his spine and in that instant, his thoughts completely focused on the feel of Hanna moving against and around him. A few seconds later, all those sensations seemed to converge into a single area of contact and, with a series of loud groans, he emptied himself into her._

 _When she became aware of the world again she opened her eyes to find the sun was sinking rapidly now and the air growing slightly chill on her heated skin. Her hands drifted lazily through the soft silk of Caleb's hair._

 _He was laying sprawled in spent abandon against her breasts and between her thighs, his face buried loose in the curve of her shoulder. His breathing was light and steady, his heart a sated, even beat and she might have thought he'd drifted into sleep if he hadn't moved suddenly to nuzzle lightly at her throat._

" _It's getting cold," he said, rubbing the tip of his nose affectionately along her jawline and then planting a solemn kiss against her cheek. "We should go back inside. Aren't you hungry?" he asked, hoping she'd say yes so he could feed his starving stomach something, too._

 _Hanna slipped her arms around his neck again, tightening her hold. "It'll be okay for a while."_

 _He gave in and settled onto his back in the cooling sand, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her gently onto his chest. Hanna settled herself in her favorite position, molding herself to his side and entwining her legs in his. Their contented sighs sounded in the stillness that covered them like a blanket._

 _They lay there for a few more minutes, fingers exploring lazy paths across a hip, a thigh, tracing languid circles against chest or arm, as the wind kept breezing through the shrubs surrounding them._

 _When the deep red of the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon, Caleb scrambled to get up and put his swim trunks back on. He helped her put her bikini top back on while she was trying to wipe off the crust of sand on her arms that the fresh layer of sunscreen had caused earlier._

 _Arm in arm, they walked back to the hotel and up to their honeymoon suite, where they both disappeared inside the shower large enough for two people in love, washing residue of lotion and sand off their skin with a slightly guilty conscience on their minds…_

 **XX**

A sigh slipped from Hanna's lips at the memory of that steamy adventure. It had been the wildest and uninhibited moment in their relationship. And now it would forever hold another meaning. With the help of the pregnancy tracker app she had been able to backtrack the conception date, which meant she now knew when their baby was due to arrive, and that made her smile even more.

She looked at the piece of plastic in her hand. In a matter of seconds, her life had changed. When she really thought about it… it was always about the little seconds. Just like it had only taken her a few seconds to scribble down her address on a scrap of paper which had brought Caleb to her house and eventually into her heart more than eight years ago.

Slowly, she got off the bed and crossed the room. She opened the sliding doors of their closet and got out her memory box from its hiding place. In the past weeks, she had been adding things to it on an almost daily basis from all the new memories she was making with Caleb in their rekindled relationship that, meanwhile, had culminated in their marriage.

She hadn't expected this pregnancy to happen so soon but she had been wondering in the past days why she had been so emotional just about everything and why the heck the smell of coffee was suddenly causing her to gag. But what was missing out on her daily fix of caffeine compared to holding a healthy baby girl or boy in her arms in a little more than eight months… She was willing to sacrifice whatever it took to make that happen.

Hanna reached for the item meant to find a new home inside the box: the positive pregnancy test that she had taken first this morning with trembling hands after returning home from her hasty run to the drugstore.

She put the stick on top of everything else in the box. When she was about to put the lid back on, her eyes caught a glimpse of the small black item stored inside a translucent plastic bag in one corner of the box.

And suddenly, Hanna knew exactly how she wanted to tell Caleb the news that he was going to be a dad. She couldn't wait to see his reaction. She was sure that this time, it would be him asking her for a pinch in the morning.

 _to be continued…_

* * *

 **Chapter 10 coming soon... Stay tuned. XO, Zip**


	10. Chapter 10

**XXXXX**

 **Chapter 10**

 **XXXXX**

"Uh, hi! Can I help you?" Hanna said with confusion after someone had knocked on the door sometime after lunch. She had opened it to find an unfamiliar man who was looking at her expectantly… and hiding one of his hands behind his back. By instinct, Hanna stepped back from the door and stayed hidden behind it, letting only her face show in the door crack.

"Yeah, hi! Are you Hanna?" the stranger asked, and after she wouldn't confirm, added, "I'm Garner Wills. I work with your husband." He extended his hand to her, smiling friendly.

Hanna opened the door a little wider. "Oh, I've heard a lot about you. So nice to finally meet you." She shook hands with him, adding, "Caleb's not here right now."

"I know, I know," the quickly said to her. "I just came by to give you… this!" He handed her a bouquet of purple wildflowers that he had been hiding behind his back.

"For me? Why?" Hanna asked, feeling like she had missed something in the conversation. Garner was just standing there, smiling at her naturally.

"It's a thank you. Caleb has helped me out a lot lately, and when I'd asked him if there was something I could do to make it up for him he said he didn't need anything," Garner eventually explained. "And he said that if I felt like wanting to make up for something, I should be gifting you."

"I don't understand," Hanna voiced her thoughts and looked at the flowers before her gaze traveled back to him.

"For being so understanding when he's working long hours for our project. Or when he has to leave early in the morning to help a wasted guy get his keys back and sober up when he actually had plans with his wife." His face had taken on a guilty expression, and he was hoping his explanation would make her accept the flowers at long last.

"Well… thanks… I guess." Hanna allowed herself to smile at him. "And I'm sorry your girlfriend broke up with you. Maybe you two can get back together one day?"

"Yeah, well… I don't think so." He smiled back at her warily. "We're just too different."

"Speaking from experience… Trust me, that doesn't have to be a bad thing," Hanna said quietly. She watched him backtrack slowly, looking sad and lonely. "Do you want to come in and have a… a… um, tea, maybe?"

"No, thanks," Garner declined her offer. "I think I should get going now anyways. I have a few errands to run before Henry will be home. He's letting me crash at his place for a few days, just until I've figured out this whole mess."

"OK. Well, I hope you can work things out," she said while closing the door behind him. The next second, she opened it again, calling after him, "Wait! Do you think you can give me a ride?"

Garner stopped in the middle of the hallway, debating with himself whether to let himself be seen with that beautiful blonde in a car together.

"My car is in the shop, and if you're planning to drive to Henry we kind of have the same direction anyway," Hanna pushed a little further.

The guy finally turned around and grinned at her. "OK, I can give you a ride. But do you happen to have a cup of coffee for me? I could really use one after the day I've had."

"Uuuh," Hanna stalled while trying to will away the bout of nausea the thought of coffee alone had brought up in her. "No. But I was planning to stop by at the Brew anyway. My treat but… you're the one getting our orders. I can't go in there myself."

"What? Why?"

"Long story," she fended off his question, rolling her eyes. "Deal?"

Garner chuckled, shaking his head with disbelief. "Damn, girl. You are really something else."

Hanna looked at him, suspicious. When she finally heard him say "Deal!", she broke into a broad smile. "Let me just grab some stuff and I'll be ready in a minute."

 **XX**

"It's the light blue one over there," Hanna instructed Garner who, as a consequence, slowed down and pulled to the curb.

"Whoa, this is your new house? I think I need to renegotiate my stake of the software deal with Caleb and Lucas," he said with appreciation as he took in the sight of his business partner's new home.

"Don't get your hopes up," Hanna laughed, "His mom's stinking rich and she's trying to prove a point by paying for half of it."

"Caleb hardly ever talks about his parents. All I ever hear are stories about you," he countered.

Hanna smiled, slightly intimidated. "Yeah, well… That's kind of a long story."Avoiding his gaze, she opened the door and got out.

Garner rounded the car and joined her at the tail where she had started unpacking. Looking into the trunk he finally saw the things she had thrown in there in a hurry while he had been sitting inside the car, calling his ex-girlfriend to try and win her back. Laughing, he said, "I see. So you only gotta pay half for that sassy shack, but there was no money left to afford proper furniture?"

Hanna gave a short laugh. "It's just this thing that we do whenever our lives are about to change big time," she tried explaining her unusual luggage of choice with her cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"Alright. Whatever works for you two..." He threw his hands up in defense before proceeding to help her hoist boxes to the sidewalk.

„Hi, Hanna!"

Startled, Hanna almost dropped the bag she was holding and jerked around to face the person who had approached her from behind and who's dainty voice had sounded oddly familiar in a place she had only been to once before. "Hey! Whoa, you scared me."

"Sorry!" Annie quickly said. She detached her kid-sized walkie-talkie from the belt loop of her ski overall and spoke into the receiver, "AlI-clear here. It's just the lady who came to see Mrs. Ferguson's house yesterday."

Hanna set the bag aside and knelt down on the asphalt, Caleb's words from the day before still ringing in her ears about how he had been treated as a little kid. "Who are you talking to?"

"My friend Molly," the girl said and secured her walkie-talkie again. "We saw an unfamiliar car driving along the street."

"Didn't your mommy tell you never to talk to strangers in the street?" Hanna asked her.

"But... you're not a stranger. We've already met. Have you forgotten already? I'm Annie!" she smiled at Hanna, flashing her toothy grin. "Besides, I always stay nonnimess."

"You what?" Hanna frowned.

"I stay nonnimess. Mom said real detectives always stay nonnimess, too," Annie proudly explained.

Hanna tried stifling a grin, but to no avail. "See, I did not know that. You're a very smart girl, Annie!" she told her, pressing her index finger to the little girl's belly.

"Are you buying Mrs. Ferguson's house?" she continued the inquiry.

"Uh, yeah. Actually, we are," Hanna smiled back at her.

"You and Caleb?"

"Yup."

"Then who's he?" Annie pointed her chubby little finger at Garner, who was standing by the car, sorting out his own baggage and Hanna's stuff in the trunk.

"Oh, um. Just a friend," Hanna answered.

The girl furrowed her brows as she looked back and forth between Garner and Hanna. "Are you a cheater?"

"Oh my god, Annie! No!" Hanna defended herself and burst into a laugh at the girl's absurd thoughts. "You know, actually, I was planning to surprise my husband tonight. And Garner..." she pointed her head in his direction and went on, "... was nice enough to take me here so that I can prepare my surprise."

"Oh, okay," Annie contented herself. Then, she dug into her pocket and held out her hand to Hanna. "My mom said I'm not allowed to take money from people for watching their car because I wasn't a ballet or something. So... here." Two shiny coins lay in her palm: the money Caleb had given her the day before. He had paid her a second quarter before they had left the perimeters.

"Will you accept the money if I told you I needed some information from you?" Hanna asked, ignoring the gesture.

Annie scratched her nose for a moment, thinking about the offer and then nodded at her business partner.

"I mean I guess I could ask Google but I would have to pay money for using my data anyway. What do you say?" Hanna took the quarters and shoved them back into the pocket of Annie's ski overall.

"What's a google?" the little girl frowned at her again.

"It's like an information desk somewhere in… India... I think," Hanna commented. Then she got up from her knee and looked at her watch. As much as she enjoyed getting to know her little next-door neighbor, it was about time she got started.

The creases on Annie's forehead deepened. But seeing the adult look at her watch, she got the notion and so she quickly grabbed her walkie-talkie and handed it to Hanna. "Here, take this. If you need any information, you can reach my information desk anytime except for when I'm sleeping."

Dumbfounded, Hanna took the receiver from her. That wasn't what had been on her mind when she'd asked for a favor from the little girl. "Thanks, Annie!" Craning her neck, she reached for her sling bag that was hanging over her shoulder, fidgeting to open the zipper.

"Annie?" a female voice suddenly yelled from an open window close by.

"Oopsy-daisy! That was my mommy. I have to go. Bye, Hanna!" the girl said and turned to leave.

When the toy had been stored away, Hanna looked up to say goodbye, but Annie had already taken off, running towards her home. She gazed after her for a long moment until her neighbor had disappeared inside her own house. _Yup, she was going to like living here…_

"Here you go." Garner came back from the driver's door and handed her the two items she had forgotten inside the car before he started carrying the heavy box from IKEA for her.

"Thanks." Hanna lead the way on the graveled path to the house with Garner tagging along behind her, then walked up the stairs. Juggling her two cups from the Brew in one hand, she fumbled to retrieve the key from her purse with the other while Garner was waiting with her at the closed front door. "I told our realtor that I needed to take some measurements and asked if she would lend me the key for one day," she told him, feeling like explaining her white lie to him would help shake off the feeling of sneaking into a house that wasn't theirs yet. However, there was a hint of pride in her voice for having come up with that idea. She turned the key in the lock and opened the door for them.

"Well, you have got to be a trustworthy woman if she believed you." Garner entered the house behind her and dropped the box in one corner of the foyer.

"Right now and above all I'm just a very desperate woman who almost broke out in tears in a realtor's office if I didn't get the chance to get my feng shui figured out before signing the escrow papers," she countered, leaning against the banister.

"And you need all this stuff to figure that out?" Garner laughed and looked around, not really expecting an answer. He let out a whistle, "Nice digs, Hanna!" But when he noticed that she didn't make a move to give him a tour of the house, he shyly shoved his hands into the pockets of his winter coat and fell silent.

"Thanks for the ride," Hanna said to him after a beat.

"No problem," he replied. "I hope you two will have a good time here tonight. "Tell Caleb I said hi and… tell him that he's very lucky." At that, he turned on his heel and quickly walked outside.

"So am I," Hanna called after him before she closed the front door. When she was alone inside, she leaned against the wood and quietly added, "Lucky enough for two even."

 **XX**

Two hours later, it had gotten dark outside, and Hanna was standing in front of the vintage mirror in the dimly lit living room of a house that she and Caleb had decided to buy less than twenty-four hours before. It was almost unreal… the speed at which everything in her life seemed to change.

She was all alone in a sixteen-hundred square-feet house and she wasn't afraid at all. The excitement in the pit of her stomach had taken over the moment Garner had left, making her feel inebriated and nervous. Earlier, she had sent Caleb a text, telling him to meet her at the house after work. He had agreed to her proposition without asking any questions.

Expecting him to arrive any moment now, she checked her surroundings one more time. All around her, she had placed scented lavender candles, her favorite, and there were the two cups from the Brew next to a sleeping bag built for two underneath an impromptu tent assembled from ropes and curtains right in front of the bay window. A picnic basket with a bottle in a cooler was waiting to be unpacked.

Satisfied with her works, Hanna looked at her reflection in the mirror, unable to grasp the fact that the person she saw was about to become a mother later that year. She pulled up her hoodie and the t-shirt she was wearing underneath. Placing her hand on her flat abdomen, she enjoyed the remaining minutes alone with her little secret.

Crackling, the walkie-talkie, which she had placed on the mantelpiece earlier, cut through the silence.

"Did everything work out?" came Annie's whisper through the receiver.

Hanna grabbed her handset and answered, "Why are you still up? Yes, it did! Thanks. And say thanks to your mommy too from me, okay?"

"She wants to meet you in person tomorrow," Annie muttered.

"She will, I'll be coming by to give you back your detective gear. Now go to sleep. I'm turning this thing off now," Hanna said with more seriousness. When she couldn't find a switch, she removed the batteries… just to make sure… and put it back on the mantelpiece. No more interruptions from now on…

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, followed by the sound of Caleb's voice calling her name. Hanna quickly adjusted her clothes and walked to the door to let him in.

And there he was. "Hi!" she greeted him, adding with exaggerated hospitality, "Welcome home, honey!"

Caleb stood on the stoop, holding out a bottle of champagne to her. "Hi. I thought you might want to celebrate something with me."

 _Her husband. Co-house owner._

Hanna stayed rooted to the spot and let his drop-dead gorgeous smile wash over her.

 _Father of her unborn child_.

"Are you gonna let me in or are we having a porch party?" Caleb turned sideways, checking if he missed some clues. "Because if we do I need to get my sweater from the car." Finally, Hanna took the bottle from him and stepped aside to let him pass.

As soon as he had entered the foyer, he noticed the candles in the next room. "Mrs. Ferguson didn't pay her electricity bill?" he joked. "Hey, this looks…," he stopped when he realized the candles weren't the only thing Hanna had changed in the living room. "Whoa. We're glamping?"

Hanna laughed about his last word. "I figured since it's winter and our tent got ruined the last time we went camping, why not take it to the next level and christen the house the proper way?"

"No fire?" Caleb asked, his curved mouth and the sparkle in his eyes telling Hanna that it wasn't really a complaint.

"I couldn't find any firewood around here, so the furnace and the candles will have to suffice today," she stood with her hands at her hips, unsure what to do next. Fortunately for her, Caleb picked up his discovery tour of the room.

"Hey, good thing I bought the champagne. You only brought along coffee. Couldn't find anything for us to toast with at home, huh?"

"Would you just stop nagging?" Hanna poked him in the sides, prompting him to turn around to face her.

"Seriously, I love it," he relented before leaning over to kiss her. "And do you know what I love even more? That you brought our pillows." He quickly strode across the room and let himself fall back into the thick sleeping bag, his head landing on a soft pillow. A long sigh slipped from his lips, proving his contentment.

Hanna felt a small part of her nervousness fall off herself and smiled vaguely as she followed him to their sleeping arrangement. She replaced the water in the cooler with the champagne bottle and sat down on the sleeping bags right next to Caleb. "I'm so glad you got to finish work in time for dinner."

"Yeah, me too. This was a crazily busy day." He sat up again and peeled off his coat, revealing a black t-shirt underneath. The orange glow of the candles made his skin look even more tanned. "Hey, how did you get here? I didn't see your car parked in the front."

"I had help," Hanna quickly said and winked at him. That wasn't the right time to tell him about the little dent in her car that she had caused while out and about, nervously running errands after a crazy morning.

"What? Who? Spencer? So far, she's the only one who knows about this place," Caleb tried to resolve the secretiveness.

"Nope," Hanna stayed terse. But when she saw the puzzled expression on his face, she quickly added, "Garner came by today. He says hi, by the way."

"Garner was at our apartment?" Caleb exclaimed. "I let him crash at the computer lab and sent him home after lunch. What was he even doing there?"

"He brought me flowers," Hanna said matter-of-factly.

"He did what?" Caleb looked bewildered.

"He said he owed me something," she stated. "And then he told me he was on his way to Henry. And I remembered that Henry lived somewhere close by and so… I asked him for a ride."

"Well that was nice of him. Finally a chance for him to make good for all the favors he got from me in the past months." He reached behind himself and picked up the champagne bottle and some glasses that Hanna had deposited in the picnic basket. Caleb kept the bottle and handed the glasses to Hanna. Then, he gently popped the top off, careful not to spill it all over their sleeping bags. He poured the champagne carefully into the glasses that Hanna held out to him, and then set the bottle aside to take a glass from her.

He looked into her eyes as he tried to think of a proper toast, and for once Caleb was completely speechless. Instead of speaking, he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers, just enjoying being close to her in their soon-to-be new home.

Hanna closed her eyes, knowing that if she continued to look into Caleb's warm brown eyes she'd start crying. Tears of happiness, to be sure, but tears nonetheless. And Caleb didn't like to see her cry. Heck, she didn't like to see herself cry. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. When she opened them again, her gaze was calm. She whispered, "This is nice, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"This. You and me. Here. In our house."

Caleb just smiled. He raised his head and looked around the mostly empty room. "Well, technically it's not ours yet, but my mom made a very generous down payment, so we should be safe."

Hanna chortled suddenly, her glass of champagne threatening to spill. "I never thought I'd feel so..." She tried to think of the right word.

"Domestic?" Caleb prompted, amused.

She stared at him. "No, actually, I think the word I'm looking for is... happy. I'm really, really happy right now."

"About starting over in a new town?" Caleb asked quietly.

"Yeah," she said and almost felt compelled to spill the beans. But simply blurting out the words wouldn't have done justice to the significance of the moment, Hanna thought. She had scrambled all morning to come up with a memorable way of giving Caleb the most important piece of news in their lives, and the perfect moment wasn't quite there yet.

He looked warmly at her. "Making you happy makes me happy, and that means in every sense and everyplace," he said, his voice becoming that ice cream tone that she loved even more than the real thing. "Here's to the start of a new chapter in our life. Here's to the wonderful years I hope to be spending here in this house with you," Caleb said before they finally clinked glasses.

"I love you," Hanna added quickly, stalling the inevitable moment of having to decide whether she should drink the alcohol or tell him right this moment why she couldn't.

"I love you, too," Caleb said back.

"There's one more thing Garner told me to tell you," she muttered.

"And what's that?"

"He said that you were lucky," Hanna told him quietly.

"Well, he's right." Caleb smiled at her, sincere. "I feel very, very lucky," Then, he leaned over and kissed her. "Now let's drink on it, shall we?"

Hanna gulped and then gasped for air. "Yeah, sure," she said warily before taking the tiniest sip from her glass and swallowing it before she quickly put the glass aside. "You know what, this champagne is not tasting all that good to me. And it also doesn't really go that well with the food I brought for us."

"Why? I always thought it went with everything," Caleb wondered out loud. "So, what kind of food did you bring? Do not say cold fries. I hate cold fries."

"No!" Hanna said and laughed. "There's pizza in the kitchen. I put it in the oven so it stays warm." She scrambled to get up, but Caleb gently nudged her down again.

"No, you stay. I'll get it for us." He set his glass down and got up. On his way to the kitchen, he stopped at the old mirror above the fireplace to quickly sort out his hair which he hadn't been able to do in the morning when he was getting out of the apartment in a hurry. Watching him, Hanna held her breath.

"Fuck, Hanna! Did you see this?" Caleb exclaimed with horror as he looked at the glass plate. Immediately, his eyes started searching all corners of the room.

In the semi-darkness of the room he had almost missed it.

" _YOU'RE NOT ALONE. – B."_

 _to be continued_

* * *

 **I know, I know, I know... that wasn't what you came here for today. Please, bear with me... XO, Zip.**


	11. Chapter 11

**XXXXX**

 **Chapter 11**

 **XXXXX**

The message had been written on the glass plate with a bright red lipstick in typical A. style.

"It's happening again." Caleb panicked, yelling, "No! No! No!"

Hanna, however, just sat there in their tent, motionless. Her gaze traveled across the room, watching Caleb's every move. "You stay right where you are, I'll check the rest of the house," he instructed.

Before she could say something to calm him down, he was out of the room, searching the entire house for further evidence of an unwanted visitor.

Hearing him stomp up the stairs to the second floor, she finally got up and dashed to the mirror. There, she lifted the plate and removed a wet wipe that had been wedged in behind it.

With trembling hands, she wiped off the lipstick – and wrote down something new, using the exact same lipstick after pulling it out of the pocket of her jacket. Then, she stepped back from the wall to check the result before she quickly resumed her assigned position under the roof of curtains to wait for Caleb to return, trying hard to stifle a laugh.

"I checked all the rooms and the attic upstairs and I checked the utility room and the kitchen down here," he called out to her from the hallway, breathing heavily from running the stairs up and down in a frenzy. "There's no-one in the house but us."

He came back into the living room and stopped with his hands to his hips, thinking of ways to cope with the situation. "I'm going to call the cops. Not going to sit this one out! Not ever again!" he said as soon as his breath had calmed down significantly.

"Caleb?" Hanna tried carefully, but her attempt to distract him failed when she saw him lower himself down to retrieve his cell phone from his jacket that was lying on the floor next to their makeshift camp site.

"Caleb?" she tried again.

He looked up at her, frowning. "Don't worry, honey! This time, we're going to nip things in the bud."

Hanna scrambled to get back onto her feet that felt like giving way beneath her. "Hey!" she grabbed his phone and tossed it onto the sleeping bags. She needed to clear up the situation now before the police came and put an end to their romantic sleepover.

"What are you-?" Caleb started, but then he felt her place her fingertips on the side of his head. "Sorry, no telepathy is coming through."

"Ha ha, funny," she said with a serious expression on her face, and then moved his head gently to his left, directing his gaze back to the mirror. "What do you see?"

Caleb looked at it with a terrified expression in his face upon realizing that someone had replaced the first message with a new one. He squinted his eyes, trying to decipher the new words.

" _SOMETIMES 1 + 1 AIN'T 2!"_

He stared at the cryptic message for a long moment, trying to process its meaning. Eventually, he turned around and gaped at Hanna, who was looking at him full of anticipation with her brows furrowed and a small smile playing at her lips.

The room fell completely silent. Caleb kept looking at Hanna with a lack of understanding. Suddenly, there was a thud on the floor beneath their feet, prompting them both to look down.

Caleb bent over and picked up the oblong white stick that had slipped from the pocket of Hanna's jacket. He turned it over, and finally the realization hit him.

"You're pregnant?" he whispered, baffled.

Hanna simply nodded, and her vague smile lingered, waiting for a sign of joy on his side.

His gaze traveled back and forth between the pregnancy test, Hanna's face and her stomach. "We're having a baby?" he asked again with disbelief as the situation seemed to overwhelm him.

"Uh-huh," she muttered, unable to speak as her lips quivered. Through a veil of tears, she saw his face slowly break into a smile.

"Hanna! Baby!" catching his breath, Caleb brought his hands up to cup her cheeks and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her once, twice. "Do you have any idea…" Another kiss landed on the tip of her nose before he continued, "…have any idea how… how… happy this makes me?" He kissed her lips again and then let his forehead rest against hers while his thumbs wiped away her tears.

"Really?" she whispered as she brought her arms up to embrace him, slightly feeling her head move as he nodded in reaction.

"It's not too soon for you? I mean we just recently started thinking about it," she assured herself, again feeling rather than seeing him shake his head softly.

Caleb's hands slid down her back, and then, in a quick move he picked her up and spun them both around.

"But… How? When?" Caleb asked, bringing them to a stop. He joined hands with her and slowly walked them over to the small impromptu campsite that Hanna had built for them. "Well, I know how… What I meant was…," he babbled as he sat them down. "How was that possible? You've been on the pill all this time, haven't you?"

"For all I know it happened while we were in Aruba after I'd had that horrible stomach bug, and apparently, during that time the effectiveness of my pill was suspended," Hanna recited what she had read about it in the morning when she couldn't quite yet believe it herself.

Caleb couldn't stop the laughter that erupted. "Are you aware that we may have made a baby at Baby Beach?"

"Wait, what?" Hanna was confused.

"The beach where it happened… It's called Baby Beach," he explained quickly. As Hanna joined him, the sound of their voices bounced off the walls of the empty living room.

After their laughter had subsided, Caleb reached behind him, grabbing one of the coffee cups that were standing on the floor. "Guess we better switch to these, huh?"

Hanna recognized the cup and took it from him. "Short, triple-caf, one sugar cube, no milk, no whip, no cream," she commented on the beverage inside of it, prompting Caleb to shoot her an acknowledging look. "You're not the only one who has the coffee orders down pat. Though, I guess yours is cold now."

"Iced coffee. My favorite!" Caleb joked.

Hanna turned the cup around for him to see the name that the barista had jotted down on it.

Caleb started laughing again and took the cup from her. "Hot Daddy?"

Without missing a beat, she reached for the other cup and took a sip from her tea, thereby revealing the scribble on the cardboard to him.

"Sexy Momma!" he read out loud, adding approvingly, "Oh, yeah. That's what (who?) you are!"

"Yeah? You like what you're seeing?" Hanna set her cup down and looked at him, smug. He leaned over to kiss her, answering, "Always!" before their mouths connected.

Hanna pulled back and unzipped her jacket. The graphic t-shirt she was wearing underneath came into view, reading " _Does this shirt make me look pregnant_?" on its front.

"Wow! You really went all out tonight, huh?" Caleb commented with a grin on his face.

"I went a little crazy this morning planning this whole thing," she explained, appending, "I didn't mean to freak you out with that lipstick charade."

His smile subsided, and for lack of something insightful to say to her, he simply brought the cup to his mouth and sipped his cold coffee, curious to hear her explanation. He was still a little shaken, unable to tell whether it was due to the momentary feeling of horror after finding that message on the mirror or the news about him becoming a father for the first time.

"I just felt like I needed to replace all the bad memories of A. or A.D.'s anonymous messages with something that's positive. I mean it's just like you said, this is all about starting over," she argued. "And I want you to know… I'm not ever letting A. or A.D. or whichever letter of the alphabet they choose to call themselves demean me… or… us anymore."

She looked Caleb in the eyes, and he knew that she truly meant it. He wanted to weigh in and show his support by convincing her that he would always be there to protect her and to protect their children, but Hanna calmly continued to speak, "I'm finally over it, Caleb. I am… I haven't had any nightmares in a while now... I stopped going to therapy…. And this morning, I noticed that my emergency package of Zoloft had expired. And so I just… threw it out. I wouldn't be allowed to take them anyway during the pregnancy. Nevertheless… I haven't needed any medication ever since you're back with me… I know this sounds crazy but… You've fixed up my life… You always have."

"And I will never stop trying." He set the cup down in a safe spot. "Because I'll always be grateful for you fixing up my life first." As he lowered himself, settling down on the sleeping bag, he brought his hand up to her face. He kept looking her in the eyes, conveying his love for her.

Hanna's head dipped down and she pressed her lips to his. She felt his hand move to the back of her head as his mouth opened and his tongue swept through her mouth. She closed her eyes and let him work his magic over her.

Once she got her breath back, she turned her head to the side, facing away from him. "You taste like coffee."

"I've been wondering why you suddenly converted from black coffee to green tea." He laughed in reaction. "But there's something we can do about that." He raised himself and ran out of the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Hanna called out to him, looking confused.

"Uh, babe? Didn't you say you ordered pizza?" Caleb's voice came calling from the kitchen.

"I did." Hanna yelled back while emptying out the champagne in her glass into Caleb's and replacing it by water.

"Then what is _this_?" he said when he was suddenly back at the doorframe, looking appalled and holding out a plate for her with a small round piece of dough on it.

"It's baby pizza," she explained matter-of-factly.

All across the room, Caleb stared at her, incredulous. "Baby, I'm starved."

"It's okay. You can have mine, too. But save up some room because there's going to be dessert."

"Okay, I'm sensing a theme here. It's not baby food, is it?" he came walking back to their spot on the floor.

"No," she said, laughing.

That seemed to conciliate him as he took a bite off his pizza. "Mmmm... mmmm... this is actually pretty good," he said with his mouth full, indulging in the savory taste of peperoni... and…

"Anchovies?"

"It sounded like a really great combination when I ordered the pizza online. And besides, they look like little baby fish so I figured I have to order some to go with the theme here."

"Of course, you did." Turning his head to the side a little, Caleb shot her a doubtful look. "So... just so that I can get this straight here... You can't stand the smell of coffee, but you think tiny salted little fish are okay?"

Hanna sat there, shrugging. That was all new to her and she felt overwhelmed herself with getting to know her body anew during the pregnancy. She leaned over to Caleb and simply bit off a large chunk of the pizza.

"Okay, memo received." Caleb chuckled. "You know, I've heard some funny stuff from William about my mom's pregnancy, but he didn't mention anything about those crazy cravings setting in immediately. Guess I should consult him more often now that we have something in common.

He let Hanna take a few more bites, and within shortly, they had both finished the whole, albeit small, pizza in silence.

Shoving the empty plate to the side, Caleb scooted over to Hanna before laying down on the sleeping bag with her. Sighing contently, he pulled her tighter against him.

"So... Are you ready for dessert?" she asked quietly.

"So so ready!" he told her, a mischievous expression creeping up his face. Everything she needed to know was said in that exchange. And every thought about what was currently waiting for them in an ice box by the window was suddenly erased from her mind. Their lips met in a sweet, tender kiss.

"Alright," she sighed softly. Her hand came up to his face for another round of smoldering kisses. "Do you want some whipped cream to go along with that? Because I have some!" she joked in between.

"No, I'm good." He moved down her body and pulled up her shirt, showering her with little wet kisses along the way down to her navel. There, he hesitated. "Um. Han? Is it okay to do this? I mean… does it hurt you or the baby if we…." He trailed off, a fearful look in his eyes. He didn't want to take any risks, even if it would have killed him right there and then.

"It's perfectly safe," she told him as the heat in her body rose. "Don't worry."

"Oh, good," he hissed before he started licking her bellybutton and quickly tore at her pants, getting increasingly frustrated when the material wouldn't come off as quickly as he had desired.

Hanna helped him remove her pants, ridding herself of her t-shirt and hoodie in the process. She felt the silkiness of the sleeping bag against her naked back. His weight pressed her down onto the sleeping bag, and she realized at that moment that she hadn't remembered to bring a camping mat to the house. But the awareness of the rigid floor beneath her was consigned to oblivion as soon as Caleb's mouth had latched onto hers in a kiss that seemed to reach to her soul, and his tongue was sweeping through her mouth, and her breath was being stolen away.

The passion flared up between them, and neither of them could wait. Caleb groaned into the kiss, his hands moving over Hanna's body, touching her everywhere, searching out her most sensitive areas.

In a heartbeat, Caleb's clothes came off, prompting them both to groan loudly when their bodies touched each other skin to skin.

Hanna writhed sensually under him, her movements serving to stoke the fire that was burning in and through both of them. Her moans changed in pitch and tone, shifting to soft mewling sounds that drove Caleb crazy with desire.

She watched through half-closed lids as his hand reached out, gently, tentatively and closed over her breast. She moaned as his palm rubbed against her sensitive nipple and his fingers rubbed and fondled her soft malleable flesh. She continued to watch as Caleb bent his head and closed his mouth over her breast. She moaned once more, her eyes closing completely as his tongue lapped over her nipple, stoking the fires within her.

Her hands sought out and found his hardness, clasping and stroking it at almost the same moment that his hand caressed and stroked her moist center.

Hanna opened her eyes and found her passion mirrored in the darkness and warmth of Caleb's gaze. Keeping her eyes on him, she guided him to her entrance, gently pressing her hips upward, his tip entering her. Caleb gasped at the heat he felt when he entered her more fully, holding his breath until he was entirely sheathed inside Hanna.

"Mmm… that's… good…" Hanna murmured, enjoying the feel of Caleb inside her, filling her completely, body and soul.

"Oh good… god…" Caleb groaned as she clenched her muscles around him, his hips thrusting against her in response.

Hanna wrapped her legs around his waist and clenched again, pulling Caleb even deeper into her. "Ahh… yes …"

At her moan, Caleb withdrew and plunged quickly back before repeating his motions. Hanna's moan continued as he repeatedly thrust his hips, driving her closer and closer to her climax. Her hands clawed at his back in her attempts to pull him closer to her. "More…" she begged.

Caleb knew what Hanna wanted. He withdrew from her completely, his hand quickly moving to caress her, keeping her excited and on the edge. He placed her legs on his shoulders and in one quick movement, entered her once again.

She closed her eyes tightly, holding on to Caleb as she felt her world slipping away into a pool of overwhelming sensations and feelings. He continued to thrust his hips, driving himself into her over and over again, the need building in her until she felt her legs stiffening. Arching her back, she peaked, her nails digging into his flesh.

It was too much. Too intense. Too incredible. Too wonderful. She heard Caleb's grunt and groan as he climaxed, his thrusts now harder.

Hanna took in a deep breath and let it out shakily as she felt the final tremors of her orgasm go through her. With a final clench of her muscles, she sighed and carefully eased her legs off Caleb's shoulders. He gritted his teeth and groaned one last time before he collapsed on top of her.

After a while, he carefully withdrew from her. He lay alongside Hanna, his arm draped over her, keeping her warm within his embrace. Nuzzling at her neck, he felt and heard her heart beat and breathing slowly returning to normal. His hand gently caressed her, soothing her, calming her.

They sighed at the same moment, softly chuckling. Hanna stroked Caleb's hair. "It's amazing how in synch we are…"

"Mmm…" was all he managed to say before a yawn slipped from his mouth. "Sorry. I guess tonight's turn of events just wore me out."

Hanna smiled at the teasing tone in Caleb's voice. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Caleb chuckled, the sound warming Hanna's heart. He raised his head and looked intently into her eyes letting his love show through. "Hey, what was it people say about pregnant women? That they've got that glow going on?"

"Yeah, I heard that too," Hanna concurred. "Though, I don't think I've seen it on Alison."

"That's sort of a given, considering the circumstances," he countered. "But I can see it on _your_ face."

"Oh shut up," Hanna said in mock defense, pushing him softly away.

"No, no, no. You're glowing and it makes you even more beautiful," Caleb insisted.

"Candlelight will do that to everybody's face. As will good sex, by the way," she quickly said, her hands playing with the hairs on his chest.

"Now that I think about it, you've been glowing with blissfulness ever since we decided to have a baby in the first place."

"Well, maybe it's because I was already pregnant at that point. I just didn't know it then." They both fell silent for a moment, each reminiscing about that conversation which hadn't been very long ago.

"I still can't believe all of this," Hanna eventually whispered.

"And I still can't believe you wrote that message on the mirror." Caleb laughed, his eyes fixating on the naked light bulb dangling from the ceiling above them in the dark while his hand played with Hanna's hair. "I mean it's not like there weren't enough other options here."

She laughed with him. "It was kind of an afterthought… my hands were so clammy this entire time, I was afraid I'd wipe off the names on the cups or spill coffee all over my shirt."

"You know what? It's original. We should totally keep it… as a memento or something," he relented. "Although… You could have just given me that test stick wrapped up with a nice ribbon and I could have kept that in a more unobtrusive way," he continued bantering.

"Next time, I'll try to think of that," she quipped back at him.

"Next time? Whoa!" Caleb turned his face back around and brought it down to her abdomen. "Did you hear that? You're not even born yet and your mom is already thinking of getting you a sibling," he spoke against her skin.

Hanna started laughing and laid down flat on her back, prompting Caleb to rest his head on her stomach. He heard a growling noise coming from close to his ear. "What's that, Mrs. Insatiable? Sounds like that baby pizza wasn't enough for you." Caleb let out a guffaw. "Now how about some whipped cream à la Caleb?"

"Spray cheese," Hanna said bluntly.

"What?" Caleb's head came shooting up from her midsection, and he furrowed his brows, thinking he must have misheard.

"There's spray cheese in the picnic basket, and I want it. Now." She looked at him intently.

"Are you serious?" When he saw her shrug he scrambled to get up. Hanna gently held him back by his arm. "I was just kidding. I'm not _that_ gross!"

"Oh good," he breathed out, happy to lay down on her belly again.

"But I'm totally down for another dessert," she winked at him.

He didn't need to be told twice.

They both burst out laughing, and Caleb proceeded to close the zipper of the sleeping bag over them.

 _to be continued…_

* * *

 **Happy? XO, Zip**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

The next morning, Hanna and Caleb were still asleep when the paperboy passed by the old Victorian house on his early morning route in Valley Lane and dropped off his papers on the porches of the houses next door.

They were missing out on the early birds that had started chirping in the trees all around.

And they still slept when the first rays of sunlight started streaming in through the fogged-up windows on that last day of February.

It wasn't before Caleb's phone buzzed - reminding him of an important business lunch that day - that the two lovers in the improvised tent stirred. Caleb rose to turn off the alarm and once he sat, he wiped the sleepiness out of the corners of his eyes with the heel of his hand.

Next to him, facing away and almost completely hidden beneath a messy heap of hair, Hanna's head peaked out from under the sleeping bag, looking peaceful and beautiful as ever. Caleb looked upon her sleeping figure. Did she look different this morning? Yesterday morning she had been Hanna, his wife and best friend, when she had woken up. But now she was so much more. Somewhere inside that sleeping bag, undistinguishable from where he was sitting, the rest of her body was hidden, which meant that somewhere close there was also this new human being, securely protected in the depths of her womb. She was carrying his child. The thought was still so unfathomable and so scary, yet the best piece of news he could have ever imagined getting in his life.

Did _he_ look any different today now that he knew he was going to be a father in… what? Seven… eight… months? He got up, surprised that his cracking ankles didn't wake Hanna, and walked over to the old mirror above the fireplace. The reflection showed twenty-five-year old Caleb Rivers with a light stubble in his face... Was that what a good father would look like? Was he carrying enough love in his heart for both Hanna and their child… for the rest of their lives? Or was there some kind of genetic disposition for men to abandon their family if they had experienced that same level of misfortune in their own childhood?

He stepped closer to the wall and stared at his image in the mirror for long moments. "No!" he suddenly whispered, shaking his head fervently to get rid of all those negative thoughts. "You are not going to end up like your father and by god, you're definitely not going to act like your mother! _You_ are going to make it better and be the best dad there could possibly be. Because _you_ are going to have to keep up with a wife who's most likely the best mother out there."

Inadvertently, his voice had become louder, thus waking Hanna in the process. She rose from her makeshift bed and silently watched him deliver the monologue to himself in the mirror, feeling deeply touched by his words. "So long as you feed me ice chips and support my back during delivery, I don't see any problems in that department."

Caleb looked sideways, his face sporting a lopsided sneer. "Hey, you're up. And you heard me talking to myself."

"Well… I liked what I heard. Liked it very much." She smiled and gave his almost naked body the onceover, feeling bold. "I mean I liked it nearly as much as I like what I'm seeing right now. Good morning!"

"Good morning! How are you feeling this morning? You… with… our baby… in there?" Caleb nodded in the direction of her stomach as he came closer, then bent down to her. The couple shared a sweet kiss.

"Fine, I think. Well, my back is a little sore. I'm really not used to sleeping on the floor anymore," Hanna said, kneading her neck muscles.

"I can give you one of my infamous Rivers backrubs tonight," Caleb said, his voice sounding hoarse and enticing.

"Why can't you give me that infamous backrub right now?" she asked innocently and tried pulling him down to the floor again.

"Sorry! You wore me out last night. No can do without coffee or breakfast." Caleb lifted her arm, which had previously wound its way around his neck, and stood.

Feigning defeat, Hanna let go of him and laid back down. "I think there's some cold pizza leftovers in the kitchen."

"Perfect." Without hesitating, he left the room. He was back in no time carrying a small plate with one single baby pizza on it. "There was only one left. Here, you can have it."

"You're willing to share that last pizza with me?" she asked with mock surprise.

"I'd share anything with you," he said softly as he held out the plate for her. "Unless it's tacos. Then we'd have to haggle."

"You can have it. I'm not even that hungry," Hanna countered.

"But you need the energy more than me. Remember our little owl in there?" His free hand touched her uncovered and still flat tummy.

"Owl?" Hanna frowned.

"Yeah, he or she seems to be keeping you awake at nights. So from now on and until we find out if it's a boy or a girl, it's little Owlie to me."

A knock on the door interrupted their fun quarrel, causing them to look at each other, surprised. "Who even knows we're here?" Caleb asked while scrambling to find his pants and shirt in the disheveled arrangement of pillows, sleeping bags and strewn clothes on the floor.

"Oh, only Henry," Hanna mused, "Or Rhonda. Or Annie."

Caleb got a frightened look and gazed down at his not-so-decent attire. "Oh god, do you think Detective Annie is here to check up on us?"

Hanna thought of the walkie-talkie that had been turned off since the night before. "Well…," she started as her mind came to that very same conclusion, "there's a fairly good chance that she came to check if it's you and not Henry who stayed with me for a sleepover."

"She what?" He asked, seemingly confused, but then he finally found his denims and put them on while continuing to peruse the room for his missing shirt.

Knock number two cut in before Hanna could explain.

"Ugh, never mind." He quickly reached for Hanna's pink t-shirt for lack of other possibilities to cover his naked upper body and walked to the front door. There, he stopped in order to pull the garment down over his head. It was a tight fit and only went to his navel. "Fuck," he murmured to himself before he opened the door at long last.

Their visitor looked back over their shoulder, and for a split second, Caleb had trouble telling if the person in front of him, sporting really short brown hair and a pair of khaki cargo pants, was a woman or a man. "Oh, hi!" a revealing, high-pitched voice eventually ended his confusion.

"Hi!" Caleb greeted back in a friendly manner. He didn't know the woman but he wanted to make a good impression for their first ever visitor in their new home. Though, the look on her face as she ogled him in that pink t-shirt with its funny print ' _Does this shirt make me look pregnant?_ ' had him doubting whether she would be getting that of him.

"I'm sorry, is this a bad time? I can come back later," she said, smiling. "I'm Lauren, Annie's mom. From next door?"

"Oh, right," Caleb smiled back. "No, it's alright. I'm Caleb, your soon-to-be neighbor. Nice to meet you," he introduced himself and extended his right hand to her.

Lauren awkwardly maneuvered the plastic container she was holding and shook hands with him. "Nice to meet you, too. And welcome to the neighborhood!"

"Thanks!" he replied. Noticing her gaze stay on his chest a little too long for his liking, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed by what he was wearing. _Great. She probably thinks I'm a cross-dresser_ , was what went through his mind.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then, Caleb cleared his throat which brought Lauren back to the reason why she had come over in the first place. "Well, when Annie told me that you two would be spending the night in Cecile's house, I figured you probably wouldn't have anything to eat. So I thought I'd bring you some breakfast burritos." The white box was opened right under his nose, its contents smelling deliciously. "Plus, I came to get Annie's walkie-talkie back. She'd lent it to your wife, I guess, last night."

"Oh," Caleb let slip, lacking understanding. "Well, then… come on in." He stepped aside and let her pass, hoping however that she was polite enough to wait in the hallway in case Hanna wasn't properly dressed yet. When he had closed the door behind her, he turned around and saw Lauren's back disappear through the kitchen door, apparently familiar with the house's interior. Making a beeline for the living room to check on Hanna, he found it empty. Two female voices coming from the kitchen told him that the two women seemed to have met in there. He quickly piled up the chaotic remainders of their campsite and threw a blanket over.

Upon entering the kitchen, he found them chatting and laughing as if they had been acquainted for years. But above all, he found his wife looking gorgeous in a pair of dark-blue jeans and a loosely fitting black shirt – _his_ black shirt.

Lauren exchanged glances between the married couple, blushing as she caught on to what must have been going on between them before she came over. The food container was standing on the kitchen counter, untouched. She picked it up and removed the lid. "You guys have got to be hungry, huh?"

The smell of fried meat filled the air. Hanna immediately tried to suppress the nausea that was building inside of her, but to no avail. She felt like she was about to gag and started running for the hallway with one hand pressed to her mouth.

Looking bewildered, Lauren's gaze followed the trail of blonde hair that disappeared behind the door of the guest bathroom across the hall. "Oh no! You guys aren't vegetarians, are you?"

 **oOOo Four weeks later oOOo**

"Han, relax! Everything's going to be alright. You just sit down and take care of our baby, I'll handle the parental unit overload, okay?" Caleb guided her to the sofa where he gently nudged her down until she sat comfortably between the pillows. "Do you want me to make you some more ginger tea? I could fix you a Thermos bottle to take along to the house later on for when we're showing it to our folks."

"No, no. God, please. I can't possibly have another cup of ginger tea ever again." Hanna cringed with disgust. "Have you ever tasted it?"

"Nope. I think I remember my mom telling me I'm allergic or something," he said and quickly strode into their kitchen, hiding his amused grin.

"Ugh, lucky you." She put her feet up and grabbed her phone, eager to bide her time. "How much longer?"

"Why are you this nervous? They're going to be thrilled. Take my word for it."

"Don't you see it? Telling a parent that you're having a baby is simply admitting to the fact that you had sex. I don't like the idea of them knowing we consummated like bunnies in the past weeks."

Caleb frowned at her, then proceeded to run water over the piled up dishes in the sink. "Is insanity just another side effect of being pregnant or do you seriously think your mom worries about our sex life? Don't you think that ship has sailed a long, long time ago?"

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Although, I did tell her an awful lot of details about our sex life while whining into a giant-sized tub of Rocky Road ice-cream after you'd decided to stay in Ravenswood," Hanna shrugged and absentmindedly scrolled through her camera roll, missing Caleb's flabbergasted expression across the room.

"Why would you do that?" Caleb asked with a chuckle and started washing the few plates and glasses in the sink. "My dad and I, we never talked about sex. Ever!"

"Well, she made me throw plates against a wall and say out loud all the negative things about you, but instead of helping me build up an anger in order to smash the plates somehow that turned into a sobfest and I wailed about all the things I would miss about you until she took me aside and treated me to a massive load of ice-cream at home."

Caleb checked the plate he was holding in his hands for cracks and dents. When he couldn't find any, he put it back down, watching as it slowly disappeared beneath the frothy surface of the soapy water in the sink. He looked up and stared at her silent frame that was still focusing on the phone's screen before her. She didn't even notice that the clinking and gurgling had stopped. Thinking she was over those ridiculous thoughts, he shook his head, willing away his own awkward musings. "Our mothers are going to freak out because they find out about their first grandchild and not because you and I — a happily married couple might I add — admittedly had sex. Okay, plenty of sex."

"My mom still thinks we've rushed into wedlock head over heels," Hanna fended.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a rush. It's been eight years, give or take a couple of months of insanity on both our parts," he joked before turning more serious. "And why would she even say something like that when she was the one helping us to get married in the first place?"

"In the light of what had been going on she saw the despair we felt in that situation. But in hindsight, she would have preferred for us to share the same address first for a while before we got married."

"And live in sin?" Caleb mocked her. "I can hear Ted go on and on about this."

Hanna shrugged again. "He went after a divorced woman who was once accused of murder. I'm pretty sure he's got some dark secrets of his own or else he wouldn't be that forgiving towards our modern lifestyle."

"Well, then I'm more convinced than ever that neither of them are going to want to know when and where and in which position our baby was made. Save that for girls' night with your friends." Caleb finished the dishes and started preparing ginger slices. He poured hot water over them in a teapot. Then, he took a clean mug from the cabinet and placed the two items on the dining table before proceeding to check on his veggie casserole in the oven.

When he resurfaced from behind the kitchen island, Hanna wasn't in her spot on the couch anymore. He saw her standing in front of the mirror as she was adjusting her wild mane for the umpteenth time that day. Her hand started cradling her stomach, causing a small smile to flicker across his face. She was simply radiant. Life was good.

"Do you think my bump is starting to show?" Hanna spun around, looking at herself from all the different angles as she tried to make out a difference in her waist measurements.

"Oh no! You're not going to trick me into admitting you've gained any weight or something like that." Caleb sneered and started setting the plates on the table. "I think your mom already knows what's up. This morning when I fixed the printer in her office, she got kind of sentimental and weird."

"She's in love and living with a man again other than my father after more than ten years. That's bound to be weird enough for me."

"No, she was like… hugging me and pinching my cheeks because she was elated after seeing your new profile pic. She said you looked genuinely happy and she thinks that's all because of me."

"Well, you are every mother-in-law's dream." Hanna readjusted her bulky silk tunic to fit over her waistline and returned to her seat.

Caleb counted their cutlery and laid it out on the table. "Get this, she asked me if I had been taking another cooking class because she thinks that your face has gotten a little fuller," he added, chuckling.

"Gee! Thanks, mom!" Hanna rolled her eyes. "And how is that even possible with all the food that I'm not able to keep down these days? I lost three pounds during the past two weeks!"

"Yeah, I noticed that cute ass of yours feels a little less full, and I'm not sure that I like it."

"Do you think _I_ like it? And how come everyone keeps calling it 'morning sickness'? I've been sick ever since Lauren wafted that smell of fried minced meat in my direction. Mornings, days and nights. It should be called 'never-ending sickness' instead. The smell of food that doesn't make me gag still needs to be invented."

"You heard Doctor Friedman; it will get better soon. Just hang in there!" Caleb knelt down next to her and let his warm hand rest on her tummy. "If it makes you feel any better... You look absolutely mesmerizing today, babe!"

Hanna ignored his compliments, wallowing in self-pity. "You said you'd share anything with me. Why can't you share this disgusting round-the-clock nausea with me? Misery loves company!"

"Aw, you know that I would if I could. But all food smell ever does to me is make me hungry for more food. That's why I'm pretty sure I'll be sharing the pregnancy weight gain with you later on."

As if to confirm, Hanna raised her arm to pinch him in the cheek and flinched. "Yeah, I can tell."

"Hey!" He tickled the sensitive skin on her stomach to retaliate. "That's what you get for making me eat all the food that _you_ can't bring yourself to eat these days."

"This is so unfair. My mom never asked me if I had taken any cooking lessons," Hanna pouted, lost in an afterthought.

"Then I guess she likes me more than you," Caleb teased her. His thumb continued to caress her skin underneath her belly button. "l promise the second you tell me that you're feeling better again I'll be there at that stove cooking all your favorite dinners that you're missing out on for now so you can finally start eating for two without regrets. But all I can do now while you're feeling like crap is serve you ginger tea and take care of all the bills and letters that have been piling up here ever since we signed the escrow papers. Deal?"

Hanna was barely able to nod and slowly laid down as another wave of nausea hit her.

Feeling nothing but sympathy for his wife's misery, he kissed her forehead and got up to pour her some of the ginger tea.

There was a knock on the door, prompting Hanna to stand up for a proper welcome. She forced herself to smile as Caleb went to let in both their mothers. "Hi, mom! Hi Ashley!" he said as soon as the two women became visible behind the door.

"Oh my god, you're pregnant!" Claudia Dawson let out as soon as she spotted Hanna, ignoring the welcoming arms of her son whose happy smile instantly died down.

"What? Why? How?" Hanna stood, mouth agape, exchanging glances with her own mother.

"I could smell the ginger as soon as I stepped through the door downstairs. And believe me, Hanna, I've had quite a few gallons of ginger tea in my life," said the mother of three boys. From the depths of her leather purse came a vibrant ringing, gaining in volume until after a few seconds, it became impossible to ignore. Claudia fished out her phone and checked the caller ID. "Excuse me, I have to get this. It's Clay's school principal. For the third time this week," she explained, rolling her eyes before she stepped back out in the hallway.

Scraps of her conversation kept wafting through the open door as Caleb, Hanna and Ashley continued their hellos. "Hanna? Are you…?" Mrs. Marin whispered, barely able to hide her excitement.

Hanna ignored her question, stalling and not liking the idea of having one mother find out sooner than the other. She poked her head through the door crack for a second to look around in the hallway. "Hey, um... Where's Ted?"

"Uh, he had to cancel the house tour to go visit Mrs. Handelman. You know, our worship leader from church? Her husband is on his deathbed and he asked to see him one last time."

"Oh," Hanna said, a little disappointed. From outside, Claudia's loud, indignant admonition could be heard, causing the rest of the party to raise their heads, surprised by the harsh words coming from a woman who would normally exude self-restraint in every possible situation.

"Hanna?" Ashley tried again, but when she saw Hanna's eyes wander over to behind her back, she knew that Claudia's head had reappeared in the doorframe.

"I'm so sorry! A severe case of puberty! Need I say more?" she apologized as she re-entered the apartment.

Caleb scoffed. "Clay's ditching school in his puberty? Is that all? Boy, aren't you glad you missed out on mine?"

What was meant as a joke, brought about an awkward silence. "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized after realizing that that wasn't the right moment to confront his mother with the issue again. With a couple of years having gone by since he'd reconciled with his mother, there was no longer any ill will between them. She had explained her reasons and expressed her remorse about having left him when he was still a little child more than a dozen times. Caleb had forgiven her at some point, but he would never forget it, and so from time to time, a pointed remark slipped out.

"So? Was I right before? Are you two…?" Claudia condoned his assertion, pointing her neatly manicured index finger at Hanna instead, then to Caleb, switching back and forth between them.

"We're having a baby!" The pair exclaimed in unison, beaming at the two older women with glee.

"Hanna! Come here!" A sincere smile playing at her lips, Claudia dropped her shopping bag and pulled Hanna into her arms. "I knew it! I've had a feeling that something was up since the last time I talked to Caleb on the phone and he said you weren't feeling well that day. You're never sick, Hanna!"

Ashley creased her eyebrow, surprised by the fact that Mrs. Dawson, Caleb's formerly vanished mother seemed to know her daughter-in-law so well – not that getting along with in-laws wasn't a good thing she had always wanted Hanna to have anyway.

Hanna exchanged glances with Caleb, who felt obligated to defend himself. "Sorry! Apparently I'm not that great at keeping secrets."

"My baby is having a baby!" Ashley extended her arms and pulled Hanna into a loving embrace, careful not to squeeze her too tightly. "Are you aware that this is turning me into Grandma Marin?" she asked with tears of joy glistening in her eyes. "l can't be a grandmother. My mother's a grandmother. Regina is a grandmother. But me… I'm still too young to be..." Her voice faltered, and she pulled back, her hands resting on her daughter's shoulders to keep her close. Seeing the joy in her face, that wide smile that made her dimples so prominent, she realized she needed to get her act together. "Oh what am I saying? I'll be a young grandmother. I'm really, really happy for you two."

The duo hugged again, then Ashley slowly let go of her and turned around to her son-in-law who simultaneously had been hugging his own mother. "Caleb! Congratulations!"

"Thank you," he said as she pulled him closer. Her warmth engulfed him, and he knew that it was a heartfelt gesture. His mother-in-law had always been one of the very few people he trusted and felt absolutely safe confiding to. And she played her part well... because of course he hadn't been able to keep the news to himself that morning at her office, the pride father-to-be that he was.

"Have you been to the doctor's yet?" Ashley asked, curious to learn more from her daughter.

"Yeah, everything is looking just the way it should be," Hanna told her. "Oh, I have pictures. Do you want to see them?"

"Of course, honey!"

Hanna quickly turned on her heel and went to get them from her purse.

"I'm surprised she's not wearing them in a little neck pouch for everyone to see wherever she goes," Caleb joked. "She's shown them to the FedEx guy yesterday and the hotdog vendor at IKEA the day before.

"Oh, shut up. Like you haven't taken photos of the ultrasound monitor when we were still at the doctor's office!" her voice traveled all the way from the bedroom.

"Hey! Aren't you glad I'm being super dad already, proudly showing off pictures of what looks like the radar image of a tornado?" Caleb yelled back, justifying his actions.

"You two better soak up these moments because in the blink of an eye, your kid will be born and out of the house, making it big in the fashion business." Ashley tore a silk handkerchief from her purse and dabbed at her wet eyes.

"Mom! You're being uber nostalgic already. Save up some tears! We still have another seven months to go until the birth." Hanna returned with the ultrasound printouts and showed them to her mother.

"Oh, it'll feel like seven seconds. Trust me. Unless you get to have an uncomfortable pregnancy." Ashley unfolded the long strip of thermopaper and glanced at it with glistening eyes. "Oh Hanna! Is this a second bubble? Are you having twins?" she asked while taking a closer look at the sonogram pictures.

"God! No, mom! Just the one. That's my bladder," she explained, pointing at what her mom thought to be another baby.

"So... Did the doctor tell you the due date?"

"November fifth," Hanna answered immediately with a blissful smile as she and Caleb locked eyes with each other. The contact broke when they heard Ashley give a little cough.

"Oh, well that's funny! Isn't that the date of your... of your..." Ashley trailed off as she saw the surprised reaction on their faces. "... anniversary? Your high school dating anniversary, I mean?" she tried to backpedal.

Hanna and Caleb shared another meaningful look, and Hanna, who was facing away from her mother, mouthed "See! She knows!" to her husband.

"Yeah! Wouldn't that be a great date of birth?" she was all smiles for her mother again.

"Yes, but only nine percent of children are born on the exact day of their due date. You were born six days late, you know? Everyone was making fun of how you would take your time to pretty up for the birth. Guess they got that right, didn't they?" Ashley took one final look at the ultrasound picture and then handed her back the prized possession. "Anyway… How are you feeling, baby?"

"I've been feeling sick for a couple of weeks," Hanna told her, adding, "but Caleb's taking really good care of me."

"Yeah, he told me. I mean… I can see _and_ smell that," Ashley said, immediately biting her lip as she felt his reproachful stare on her face. "So… Is the ginger tea helping with your nausea?"

"If only I'd manage to drink it. This stuff is pure evil." Hanna said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I wish there was anything I could do to help you. But I guess that's what us women have to go through. Soon enough you'll be able to feel the flutter of the baby's first movements and it'll all be worthwhile," Ashley said and smiled at her.

"I used to drink gallons of lemon soda when I was pregnant with you because that was what your father would bring me from his gas station grocery runs on his way home from work. But all that did for me was ruin my teeth and make me hate lemons to this day. Well, times have changed… Clearly! Some men take their responsibilities as a father more seriously than others."

An awkward silence arose. Caleb clapped his hands. "So, shall we eat? I made a veggie casserole."

"Perfect!" Claudia spotted the dining table at the back of the living room and strode towards it.

Caleb took their guests' coats and hung them up by the door.

"Did you two join the vegan cult now, too?" his mother said as she sat down at the table. "I remember when I was pregnant with you, there wasn't a day going by without me getting my fix at that Austrian restaurant down the street from where your father and I were living. What was it called? House of Schnitzel or Schnitzel-Haus or something along the lines of it? Of course, your father spent more time looking at the waitresses in their fancy plunging costumes, thinking I didn't notice. Anyway… I was addicted to their parmesan schnitzel. It had the crispiest crust with about a half an inch of cheese on it." She sighed, reminiscing about that time.

However, Hanna, who had been trailing behind her and Ashley, suddenly ran for the bathroom.

"Meat aversion?" Mrs. Dawson grimaced, mouthing 'Sorry!' in Caleb's direction.

"Meat. Cheese. Coffee. Sweet potatoes. Onions. Broccoli. Parsley. Coconuts. Milk. Pineapples. Sometimes I think she makes up a new aversion every day just to challenge me in cooking a meal for her that doesn't make her gag," he explained.

"Aw, poor thing." Claudia rifled through her purse and handed him a stripe of gum. "Here. Cinnamon flavor. Maybe the gum can help make her feel better!"

He hesitated, but eventually took the gum and started walking over to the bathroom. When he passed Ashley on his way, she held him back. She removed a plastic bracelet from her wrist and handed it to him. "Give this to Hanna. It's a Psi Band."

Caleb stared at the colorful piece of plastic for a long moment, unable to understand its meaning.

"It's helping with nausea. Has to do with acupressure. It's the only thing that's working for _me,_ " she added at his bewilderment.

His gaze traveled back to her face, his mind still working overtime as he tried to process her emphasis of the word 'me'. At the sound of Hanna emptying her stomach in the next room, he finally remembered what he was supposed to do and took the bracelet from her.

Wordlessly, he continued his walk to the bathroom and then knocked on the door a few times. "Han, I'm coming in. Okay?" Not waiting for her to answer, he slipped inside and closed the door behind him, leaving Ashley and Claudia alone at the dining table, one of them staring at her plate with quandary while the other one just kept on grinning at a stack of baby pictures on thermopaper, completely unawares.

Hanna sat leaning against the tiled wall, her face ashen. Caleb poured her a glass of water from the tap before handing it to her. He sat down on the floor next to her and started caressing her cheek. "Seems like it's getting worse. I'm so sorry, baby! Do you want me to tell our moms that we're taking a rain check? I'm sure they'd understand."

"No! That's not necessary. I'm feeling better already." Hanna leaned against his shoulder and took another swig of water. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Anything!"

"Could you please remove the garlic cloves from your casserole? It's all I'm smelling out there in the living room and if you don't throw them out, I'll divorce you."

Caleb chuckled and squeezed her hand. "Your wish is my command." He got up and put his hand on the doorknob. "Oh. Before I forget…" He handed Hanna the gum. "Claudia told me to give you this."

"Oh, thanks." She removed the wrapper and put the gum in her mouth, only to spit it out one second later. "Ew! What is this?"

"It's cinnamon flavor."

"It's gross, that's what it is. Is your mom trying to torture me?"

"She meant well, Han," Caleb tried calming her down. Then, a thought crossed his mind. "Has your mom seemed a little… off… lately to you, too?"

"No. Why?"

He kept quiet for a moment as he grabbed the plastic bracelet again that had been sitting on the vanity since he'd joined Hanna in the bathroom. "She wanted me to give you something, too. Something that's supposedly helping against nausea, too, by acupressure."

"I'm ready to try anything!" She took the bracelet and gave it a closer look. "And this is supposed to work?"

Caleb hesitated with his answer. Eventually, he cleared his throat and whispered, "She said the bracelet was the only thing that's helping against her… nausea." His eyes went back and forth between the plastic in her hands and her face, hoping that Hanna would draw the same conclusion.

"Oh my god, do you think she's sick? My mom can't be sick now! She needs to live so she can meet her first grandchild," Hanna whispered back, clearly alarmed.

"Han, I don't think that's what she –" He didn't get to finish his sentence because Hanna hastily stood and bolted through the door.

"Mom?!" she blurted out, causing Mrs. Marin to give a start.

She slowly got up from her chair, and turned around to face Hanna. For a moment she smiled sheepishly, but when she realized that everyone in the room was staring at her in anticipation, her smirk wavered and she felt the need to clear her throat and burst out, "Surprise!"

… _to be continued…_

* * *

 ** _Wow, it's been almost six months since the last chapter. I just want to let you know that I'm not planning on abandoning this story. It's just so hard to stay motivated with less people reading PLL fanfic these days._**

 ** _Also, stay tuned for a new one-shot coming soon._**

 ** _XOXO, Zip_**


End file.
